The Claiming for Sakura Haruno
by I.Plead.Ignorance
Summary: It has been five years since Sasuke's faitful betrayal of Konoha, but he's coming back with Orochimaru and his army of Nin. His eyes are on a certain cherry blossom but she's engaged to Naruto? SasuXSakuXNar KakaXOC LEMON!
1. Crimson Eyes Lust For A Cherry Blossom

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO I REALLY HOPE TO SOMEDAY TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITH MY EVIL ARMY OF FLYING ZEBRAS AND THEN GET THE RIGHTS TO IT, BUT UNTIL THEN, SADLY NO NARUTO OWNERSHIP HERE. **SUMMARY** It has been five years since the faitful betrayal of Sasuke, but he's back and has an eye for a certain cherry blossom, but wait...SHE'S ENGAGED? To who? Love triangles and plot twists that'll curl your toes. PLEASE NO FLAMES! 

Sakura sighed as she came home to an empty home...again. Her muscles were screaming with agony from the brutal training sessions with Tsunade-sensei and Naruto. All she wanted to do was curl up under her warm sheets and sleep, but her mind wouldn't allow her.

It had been five years to the day since Sasuke had left. Though she grew out of her school girl crush she had on him, she still couldn't stop thinking of how he was doing and if he was able to avenge his family name by killing his treacherous brother, Itachi.

Slowly, she ran her delicate fingers through her tousled, long pink hair,

_What are you doing sakura?_ She sighed. _He probably doesn't think about you, so why should you worry about him?_

Slowly, she stepped into her bland room and didn't bother to change or shower. Instead, she fell onto her soft bed and drifted off into a heavy slumber

Over a hundred miles away in the village hidded in the shadows, Sasuke leaned against his doorpost with a small smirk adorning his smooth, flawless face.

He couldn't wait for the morning. His heart was beating a bit faster than usual and he welcomed the fantasy of returning to his home village and crushing it until nothing was left but ashes.

However; that was only part of it. No, the best part would be claiming a certain flower as his own. Where he could re-make his clan. Her body flashed through his mind and his loins ached as he imagined her legs spread before him; hearing her pleads for him to take her.

His fantasy was short-lived as his sensei walked up to him,

"What do you want Orochimaru?"

"You need to rest, the next two days shall prove to be difficult susuke. The village hidden in the leaves possess the strongest warriors in the territory."

"I know that" Sasuke scoffed, "but my mind is restless, it'll do me no good trying to sleep now."

Orochimaru smiled at his seventeen year old prodigy, "thinking about that girl are you not?" Sasuke didn't answer and kept his gaze ahead. Orochimaru continued with a knowing smirk, "the soldiers shall not harm her, I've already made that clear."

"If they did so much as put a scratch on her skin, I would kill them" Sasuke's eyes turned red briefly.

"The night is almost over, gather the nin, we'll depart an hour from now" Orochimaru commanded as he turned his back to Sasuke and lazily strode down the steps before being fully enveloped into shadows.

Sasuke smirked, _She'll be mine, and no one else's. And if she has a lover, he will die _his eyes blazed with crimson as a dark chackra began to seep through his body,

_Mine and no one else shall touch her but me! _


	2. I Love You

I WOULD LIKE YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I KNOW THERE IS NOT A "VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE SHADOWS" AND THAT SASUKE AND OROCHIMARU ARE BOTH IN THE SOUND VILLAGE, BUT THIS IS MY STORY SO TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.

Disclaimer: Nope don't own Naruto mumbles

rEAD ABOVE

"Aleia!" Sakura called out to a brunette woman with piercing green eyes.

Aleia stood at 5' 7" and is the strongest Tokubetsu Jounin in the entire village. Many times throughout the year she would be gone on S class missions, but when she was in the village Sakura would spend as much time as she can with the sister-figure.

Aleia turned around with her eyes sparkling in the early morning sun. A beautiful smile adorned her face as she spoke,

"Sakura-chan, it has been too long since I've last seen you."

Sakura ran into the outstretched arms of the 26 year old woman and firmly wrapped their arms around each other.

"I've missed you Aleia-sama, so much has happened since you left."

"So I've noticed." She smiled down at Sakura as they broke their embrace, "I've heard you surpassed many Jounin and became a great medi-nin"

"Hai" Sakura blushed, "and I've heard rumors that you saved the Sand Village single-handedly."

"I had help" Aleia winked, "now come, let's go and see how Naruto and Kakashi are doing."

"WHY WONT YOU STAY STILL!" A blonde 17 year old teen yelled to his silver-haired opponent.

"Patience Naruto, you wont accomplish anything if you're not able to observe your opponent." The silver-haired man turned a page of "Come Come Paradise" as he leaned against an oak tree.

Aleia and Sakura stood fifty feet away watching the two fixedly when Aleia's gaze landed on Kakashi and then his book. Her face turned red with anger and within the second, Kakashi's book went up in flames.

"Should've known you'd never stop reading those books" she spat towards Kakashi, "never could get laid so you'd resort to reading that filth!"

"Aleia!" Kakashi yelled with surprise, "what are you doing here?" He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to smile.

"What, no 'how are you doing Aliea?' 'I've missed you Aliea?' " She fumed waving her arms around, "I leave for one year and you're back to your perverted self!"

Sakura looked uneasily between the two and turned towards Naruto,

"Let's leave them alone" she mouthed. Slowly backing up with Naruto.

It had been a few minutes of silence between Sakura and Naruto (which for Naruto to be quiet was a feat in itself).

Sakura broke the peaceful silence with a giggle. Naruto stopped in his tracks and smiled as he saw her sparkling green eyes,

"What?" he curiously asked her.

"It's just you." She said between giggles.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "what about me?"

"Five years ago, if someone told me you would be quiet for more than a minute, I would've laughed in their face and claim them to be crazy!"

Naruto smiled down towards Sakura and took in her appearance. She no longer had short-pink hair nor did she resemble the curve-less girl she used to be. Five years of training had done her well for her physique, her body now had curves in all the right places and her chest grew to be of perfect size.

He snapped out of his thoughts and pulled her into his hard chest,

"And if that same person said you would be engaged to me..?" he nibbled her earlobe, eliciting a small moan from her.

"I'd deem them crazy and kill them on the spot."

Naruto smiled as he laid butterfly kisses down her chin and onto her neck,

"I love you Sakura."

R&R

Tokubetsu Jounin: Is the highest ranking for a Jounin before advancing to a higher level


	3. An Enemy We Know Nothing Of

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but my evil zebra plan will soon commence and then, B THEN /B we'll see! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Alright I'm done. . . . . . . . .

P ALIEA'S POV!

_Damn pervert!_ She still fumed fifteen minutes later as she stomped down the street, heading for Tsunade's office.

Usually she never was so easily agitated by anything, even Naruto's constant complains didn't easily get to her, but Kakashi always seemed to find a way to rub her the wrong way. But her actions were easily understandable considering what she was planning. Soon enough it would be put into action, but despite this she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. There could be too many outside forces that could easily sabotage her plans, and for all she knew, her trap could just as easily turn on her.

A light sigh escaped her lips as she slowly ascended the stairs.

_The human race is complicated and unpredictable. If even a small thing goes awry, then everything would fall apart._

" 'Leia, you are fifteen minutes late."

Aleia looked forward to see the blonde haired Hokage wearing her usual intimidating frown,

"I ran into Sakura and told off Kakashi" she honestly replied with mild indifference.

Aleia, when she first came to the village didn't care for this woman at all, but as the years progressed she and Tsunade came to an understanding and became tolerant of one another's view points. Though they were very different, Tsunade came to love Aleia like a sister and would seek her advice concerning some event or ancient scrolls that needed deciphering. It was rumored that Aleia, should Tsunade die, would take up the position as the fifth Hokage. But then again, there were many other rumors flailing about the village concerning her.

"Gaara sends his regards" Aliea broke the silence as she leaned back into the wall across from Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade replied with a short nod, "yes. In the report you wrote there was suspicious activity on the borders of the Sand Village; you failed to go into more detail." Aleia nodded as she knew where this was going,

"I have suspicions the people behind the attacks were not belonging to the Akutsu gang. I do admit that particular group has many exceptional techniques, but I highly doubt they were able to do the shadow transportation jutsu that I witnessed."

Tsunade furrowed her brows, "if what you're saying is true then that means-"

"-the Shadow village is on the move, or at least half of their special units are."

"Why? They were more than a hundred miles from their borders and have been quiet for the past ten years since the passing of the royal family."

Aleia nodded, "yes I agree. Perhaps this new leader of theirs was lying in wait... Waiting for the most vulnerable time to strike."

"Why would he strike?"

"What do you suspect Tsunade? Power. It's obvious that any man today only concern themselves by getting stronger for their own purposes, nothing more."

Tsunade let out a heavy sigh, "I really miss the days when the Shadow village was a decent and safe place to travel."

"As do many others" Aleia darkly agreed. "But now is not the time to reminisce about the past. We should be prepared incase they turn their gazes here." Aleia pushed herself from the wall and turned to the door, "I don't like this at all. We could have a possible war on our hands, and it's against an enemy that we know nothing of."

Without a good-bye, she walked out the door and turned left down the hall, her heart heavy with a burden only she could bear.


	4. The Brutality of Uchiha Sasuke

**1) ****NOTE: I am terribly sorry for this! I decided to re-write it because I left out a crap load of stuff and as I was going through my stories I realized they made no sense, so I re-did my fourth chapter, not entirely, I just took out the ending part and re-installed it in the other chapter, where I thought it best fit. Sorry for the inconvenience! **

Thanks and the disclaimer is the Same: Don't Own Naruto, now enjoy

The sky was a dreary-some grey outside of his lavishly decorated tent. The weather didn't bode well to those trying to track him and his movements, and his frown seemed to lessen if only a bit as he relaxed. His muscles ached every day since the little Uchiha showed up at his doorstep, since the day he performed his cursed seal on the ignorant, power-hungry boy. Promises of power easily manipulated the sharigan user as he was slowly wrought him into the idealistic form, shall the time come, as a new host.

How stupid.

Indeed he did train that boy with everything he had and knew; made him into the idealistic killing machine. But that training didn't come without a price. He was his property, _he_ would kill without hesitation whenever he commanded it, his perfect little puppet, easily manipulated with half promises that only got him so far until his leash stopped him from going any further.

And soon, very soon, his puppet would help annihilate everything he came to loath and maliciously spit upon its name whenever it was mentioned.

Soon...very soon.

A small smirk played across his hard features,

As reward, Uchiha would claim the pure blossom, untouched by human hands as it lay innocently on top of the tree named Konoha, watching as other flowers were plucked off by greedy hands.

A cold chuckle escaped his thin, cracked lips, his yellow eyes dancing with animosity,

_Let's see how well he handles the seal this time._

The rain pelted down relentlessly on the summer afternoon. Many people were scurrying around, trying to find shelter from it. Sasuke only coldly smirked maliciously as he walked down the middle of the street shrouded in his dark cloak.

The Water Village was not far from Konoha, perhaps a day away at most. _There_ was the real target, but for now he needed to take out some frustrations on this unsuspecting village, and so he pulled out a handful of kunai and let them loose onto a group of children walking home from school.

Sasuke maliciously smirked as he witnessed each kid fall to the ground one-by-one with blood spewing forth from their severed necks,

_They should've looked both ways before crossing the street_ he mused as he continued his brutal onslaught upon the horrified on-lookers.

Naruto winced in pain as did his sparring partner, Gaara, who came in with Aleia a day before.

"Stop!" he held out an arm towards Gaara, as he tried to figure out how that pain came about. It was sudden and very painful, but it left just as suddenly as it had came.

_What the hell was that?_

Gaara stood a few feet away examining the confused fox. Naruto was never one to halt a sparing session, especially when he was winning,

"Naruto, are you okay?" His concerned voice broke Naruto from his trance, and without a word, left Gaara in the middle of the field to go find Sakura, surely she'd know what he had felt.


	5. A FatherDaughter Reunion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did then why isn't my plot line in with the series? Ponder that! TRIUMPHANT GRIN, beat that woot!

Note: Again I apologize for confuzzeling you to the umpteenth degree! Please enjoy and if something seems weird to you, don't hesitate to ask!

Aleia walked back up the temple steps with an aggravated face,

_What does she want now? _she inwardly groaned as she found herself in the same place this afternoon as she did in the morning.

Tsunade was tolerable to a point, but the point as of now had been stretched to her limits. Though Aleia respected Tsunade, it did not necessarily mean she and her were "buddies" far from it in-fact, but if you were to ask Tsunade she probably would say the opposite.

"What the hell do you want now Tsunade?"

"The water village had been attacked, I need you to go and check it out"

_No way in the seven hells am I-_

"Send someone else" Aleia demanded about to turn and head out the door.

"All of the other Jounins are out on special missions, you're the only one available, you have to go." Aleia let out a deep sigh trying to get rid of the slowly building tension within her,

"Fine" with that she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

ELSEWHERE

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto bashed open their apartment door and skidded to a halt near the kitchen table where she currently was reading a medical book.

"What is it Naruto-kun?" She asked without looking up.

"I feel weird." Sakura rolled her eyes,

"It's probably from eating too much Ramen-"

"-No, I mean as in something-bad weird. As if an evil thing is coming!" He waved his arms around trying to better explain his situation.

Sakura set her book down and looked at Naruto curiously,

"I think you should tell one of the Hokages, perhaps they could help you?" Naruto shook his head furiously,

"No Sakura-chan, I need to figure this out for my self!" Sakura gently smiled at Naruto,

"Perhaps we can figure this out together eh Naru-kun?" Naruto sat down next to Sakura and held her hand in his,

"Saku-Chan what did I do to deserve you?"

"You were there for me when no one else was" Sakura replied as she stood up and put a kettle of water on the stove, "tea sounds good right now ne Naru-kun?"

It had been a few hours later and Sakura found herself sitting on Naruto comfortably watching the sun slowly set over the horizon. Her head leaned into his broad shoulder and she tightly held onto Naruto's arms wrapped protectively around her slim figure. She couldn't recall a time where she felt like this. At ease and protected, as if all the pains and troubles around her didn't matter as long as Naruto was there. Sure, it took a while to get over her school-girl crush on the traitor, Sasuke, but she did and found out another person to love, who returned it and treated her like a princess, who showed respect and gratitude for every small thing she did. Thinking this, Sakura snuggled closer into Naruto's body and sighed contently,

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?" His response was muffled by her soft hair. Her intoxicating sweet scent which he greedily inhaled; memorizing every tantalizing feature- it made his head spin in an unexplainable euphoria which made him want to scream out in pure joy for having such a girl, no woman, in his arms.

"I love you" Naruto grinned into her pink hair and pulled her as close as humanly possible to him,

"I love you too Sakura, I will always love you until my last breath, and even in death I will love you until forever ends." Sakura blushed and was at a loss for words, so instead she kept her gaze on the sunset and its ominous red and orange colors. How she wished she could stop time and forever remain in this peaceful bliss. Where everything outside their own love-struck world didn't matter, where every bad thing couldn't touch you, where that feeling of completeness forever lingered in your soul and nothing could kill it.

She sighed at how naiive she was being, but being with Naruto brought out that naiivety, he made her feel young again and loved him for it. She loved him for being sweet and caring, for growing up into a responsible man yet still holding onto his childishness and bright smiles.

_If I were to die now, I'd be the happiest and most content girl in the entire village._

MEANWIHLE

"Damn it!" she wasn't counting on this so late into her plans.

Her face darkened considerably as she ran through many scenarios, the next ones becoming more ridiculous than the last.

_Why?_ she fumed. _Do the gods hate me so much as to allow the horrible gremlins to destroy all that I have worked hard to gain?_

Spite temporarily took over her thoughts as she released more chakra on her feet than intended and snapped the branch she recently jumped onto.

"Fuck!" she gasped as she flipped onto the muddy ground.

"You should be more careful" a cold voice called from behind.

She bit back a shudder as the familiar figure loomed over her still crouched body, _Shit!_

She stood up and looked up into cold yellow eyes she had come to despise,

"Orochimaru, what a very unpleasant meeting." She spat with venom and hate clearly evident in her voice. She made no effort to conceal any of her negative emotions towards the man.

He only smirked, "my dear child, you should greet your father in a more respectful manner."

"I only show respect to those who deserve it" she spat back. He only tutted in a mocking manner and began to circle her, looking her up and down as if she was a piece of art on display.

After minutes of cold silence, Orochimaru spoke again, "it has been awhile since I laid eyes upon you Kana. I see you dyed your hair." He then looked up on her forehead where the hidden leaf village headband was tied, "and you've become what I have loathed." With a flick of his wrist the headband fell to the ground in two pieces. "Better" he said with contempt. Aliea, or Kana, did not move from her spot. She too was analyzing her father.

"It has been a long time ne Kana?"

"Six years" she stiffly replied.

"I knew you'd eventually come back to me." Aleia growled, "I came to investigate the Water village, but it seems as though I've run into the cause of it, unwillingly." Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides and her eyes started to take a silver tint. A deep, dark chuckled emitted from his throat,

"Are you more loyal to the Leaf Village than your father?"

"Let's see" she sneered, "you killed mother and her family, the Leaf Village has yet to do me wrong." Orochimaru walked up to her and firmly held her chin. His yellow eyes looked down into her silver/green ones shouting out defiance.

"You are more loyal to the village and I then you'll ever be the Leaf Village, I can see it in your eyes. You will succumb to the duties you were born into my daughter. Our village has more bearing to it than Konoha in your heart. The people here mean more to you because of their undying loyalty towards you and because of that you would not harm anyone, not even me." She tore away from his grip and placed her back to him,

"You're right, the Shadow village has more bearing to me than Konoha, but that wont stop me from killing all of those who tainted its once pure name. Orochimaru, if you dare attack the Hidden Leaf Village, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Such strong words dear daughter, but you forgot one thing." Within a half heartbeat, Orochimaru was besides his daughter and stabbed a needle through her shoulder, "never turn your back on me." The poison on the needle within a few seconds paralyzed her body and eventually she fell into darkness.

Orochimaru picked up his daughter carefully _Fate, my daughter, will not allow you to escape the darkness that you were born into. Soon the darkness you've been hiding deep within you will resurface and you'll become what you once were, because you are and will always be my daughter. My daughter who I only care for and I will not allow you to be weakened by unnecessary emotions._


	6. Welcoming Sasuke Back

NOTE: Spring break is coming to an end so I wont be updating as frequently as you and I would like, but I'll make an effort to update on the weekends, but please keep in mind I have a very busy schedule concerning sports and community service projects. Thank you for being very understanding and an awesome support group!

Disclaimer: The following movie has been formatted to fit your screen, duplications of this project cannot be applied and all criminals will be prosecuted to the….blah anyways I DON'T OWN NOTHIN'

Sasuke's POV

Cold crimson liquid ran down my arms and hypnotically I look at the droplets slowly carving their way down to my fingertips. Blood, the main source of life and most exposed weakness to any mortal, even me.

That's the only way I feel near human anymore, to assure myself that I am still here. Killing others, just to test my strength, to see if I even show a bit of remorse, but due to the Cursed Seal my master, Orochimaru placed on me, I cannot feel emotions. They don't get in my way and I become stronger…

…So I've convinced myself.

It's the only way I can kill Itachi and avenge my fallen family. The legacy and honor is mine to protect, which is why I **must** have Sakura. She will help restore the Uchiha Clan and if I die while fighting my brother, at least the legacy will continue through my heir.

I have no doubt she'll willingly abide, afterall; she is still the weakest person in Konoha and possibly still has that meaningless school-girl crush on me, which will make it easy to bed her.

_MINE_

She'll always be mine and mine only to claim.

I could feel a smirk slither onto my face as I jump from tree to tree. The rest of the Shadow army is not far behind, but I'm not one to slow down and wait for the weak ones. I have better things to do, all of them involving taking that pink haired flower from that damned village and into the Shadow village where she would dwell with me forever.

Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I see the gate not far off. Immediately I activate my bloodline and take some kunai from my pack.

_Sakura, you're MINE!_

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sakura clutched her chest and shot her arm out to latch onto Naruto with her free hand.

"Sakura-chan are you alright?" Naruto grabbed Sakura's shoulders, his eyes painted with worry. Her face went from pained to confused in a manner of seconds, leaving Naruto befuddled.

"Naruto, something evil is coming." Sakura involuntarily shivered from the daunting feeling she had. "Do you feel it too?"

Naruto gave a small nod, "yeah I do. Come on, if we can feel it, I'm sure the Hokages can feel it too."

"Naruto?" Sakura broke the silence after minutes of brisk walking towards the Hokages' temple on the other side of the village.

"Ne Sakura-chan?"

"Do you think we're overreacting, I mean it could just be the flu or something right?"

"I don't know Sakura, but you are the best Medi-nin next to Tsunade-sama, are these normal flu symptoms?"

Sakura paused to look at Naruto before shaking her head and letting out a small sigh. She felt anxious, something was coming and it was all but welcoming.

"I'm scared Naruto." She barely whispered, not even sure if she heard herself, but Naruto's sensitive fox ears picked up her words and his chest tightened. She had never admitted that nor showed it, _ever_. And seeing her so vulnerable and hearing those words made Naruto tense a bit in fear. Not even Sasuke's betrayal, made her seem this defeated.

On impulse, Naruto took Sakura into his arms and held her close to his chest. With one hand he caressed her long and silky pink hair, gently raking them through. And with the other, he slowly rubbed her back. He leaned his head on top of hers and took in her scent. Her strong arms were wrapped around his waist, holding him tight seeming never want to let go.

After moments of silence Naruto took in a breath, "I am scared too, but I know we can face whatever threat is coming. I love you Sakura, and I'll do anything to stay together. Our love can over-come anything, believe it."

Sakura fought back tears and buried her head into his chest,

"I love you too Naruto." A small smile graced her face as she looked up and stared deeply in his sparkling blue eyes.

Naruto slowly lent in and kissed her on the cheek and ever so slowly, he made his way to her petal-soft lips, where he claimed them in a passionate kiss. Sakura immediately melted at first contact and couldn't remember such a time when he was so demanding…and she liked it. She kissed him back with as much intensity and when his tongue traced her bottom lip, she didn't hesitate to allow him access to her other-wise un-frenched mouth.

Sakura's mind was completely blank as she lost herself, feeling up every inch of Naruto. She never noticed another presence nearby watching from a tree with flaming eyes, nor did she notice the metallic glint of a kunai being ready to lunch itself from the strangers hand, and nor did she hear it cut threw the air as it was thrown with deadly accuracy towards its target…

Good thing Naruto did.

Fluidly, he threw Sakura behind him and grabbed the kunai a mere two inches from his throat. His quick eyes immediately found the person who threw it and his face became cold and stoic.

The stranger made no effort to hide from Naruto's piercing gaze and jumped down from his hiding place. His face was cold with eyes burning of hot fire. The slash through his head protector was the only thing identifying him of who he was in the past. The rest of him seemed to have changed. His hair was as black and limp as his heart, his height astounding at 5' 11," and his face seemed sculpted into a master piece, had not his uncaring scowl and soulless eyes ruined it, one would think of him as an untouched work of art just being revealed to the world after centuries of seclusion.

For a few tense moments the two men just stared at one another; their features were expressionless as the intensity of the silence kept growing. Both of them despising the man before them for completely different, yet all the same reasons. And then Naruto's voice broke the silence barrier, no longer high and annoying, but deep and commanding hinting towards remarkable power within,

"Sasuke" he acknowledged.

Sasuke hid his emotions well, not showing that he was taken aback by his childhood best friend's change in character.

_Had five years really changed him that much?_ He reflected.

"Naruto." His cold voice answered back in the dark tone he used before getting ready to fight his opponent.

"It's been a long time." Naruto spoke again trying to assess Sasuke.

"Indeed it has." He coldly acknowledged. Taking note of the small, cold smirk that came to Naruto's usually care-free features. It felt odd to see him like that.

"I usually give my enemies a warning before I kill them." Naruto explained before his trademark smile appeared, "so I'll give you 'til the count of three to get out of here." He pocketed Sasuke's would-be murder weapon into one of his many ANBU uniform pockets and folded his arms.

Sasuke heard the deadly whisper of a kunai passing by his ear and soon after heard the clang of it lodging itself deep into the bark of the tree he was leaning on. Taken aback he looked at Naruto,

"I thought you were going to give me 'til three?" he mocked with indifference lining his hallow voice.

"I was, but I never said anything about my fiance." With that he stepped aside to reveal Sakura, who did not hesitate to come to Naruto's side.

Sasuke once again successfully hid his emotions and cursed himself for forgetting that Sakura was there in the first place. But what got him more so than his inability to sense the kunai was her ability to throw it at _him_ without the slightest hint of gentleness he assumed he would come across the first time she laid eyes upon him.

_Wait_ Sasuke stopped his musings for a moment as he replayed Naruto's words through his mind, _she's HIS_ _fianc! But I thought she loathed him! _

"I came here for Sakura, not to waste my time fighting you Naruto." Sasuke didn't make an effort to hide his bitterness and resentment towards the fox.

"I am not one to be easily claimed Sasuke" Sakura spoke out with defiance. Her sea-green eyes spoke magnitudes of self-assuredness, beauty and courage as she looked at him dead on in the eyes. "Rest assured Sasuke" she took a fighting stance, "I've changed since the last time we've laid eyes upon each other…and next time I will not miss purposefully."

"Sakura-" Naruto began as he gently touched her shoulder.

"-I can do this Naruto." She sent him a meaningful smile trying to reassure him and herself that what she was doing was the right course of action.

Off in the distance a cacophony of blasts sounded in the borders of Konoha and the ground shook violently from the shockwaves. Soon the sound of windows shattering, birds frantically taking flight and terrified screams echoed the area in a deafening roar.

Sasuke coldly smirked, "The others have arrived."


	7. Afterwhile Crocodile

NOTE:** Hey fabulous readers o' mine! I kicked some butt in softball today (grant it, it was only a practice) and because of my high from that, decided to write chapter seven waay ahead of schedule, just please don't expect another one soon though! Thanks a ton for your overall awesomeness! And please enjoy!**

Kakashi's POV

A sickening gurgle came from the masked ninja before me, but I didn't have time to give him a fast death; there were plenty where he came from—unfortunately.

Instantly I dodged a shower of shuriken and made my way to the 20th nin to die today by my hands.

…_My forever blood-stained hands…_

They seemed to come from everywhere. Any place casting shadows they would seep out like serpents out of water, and their numbers were enormously staggering. Had they spent the last ten years training their entire village for this, if not are there more to come?

My Sharnigan eye rapidly took in the massacre. All the hokages were fighting hordes of Shadow nin. The ANBU squad flew from tree to tree in quick succession, easily making work of the foes hiding there. The low level Jounins and Chuinins were sporadically scattered everywhere in less-than-satisfactory amounts, and team members were far apart from one another proving it more difficult to clear their minds enough to fluidly fight.

It was mass chaos…

The worst tragedy of the day has already past, but made my heart heavy nonetheless. The Genin-they were no more; mere twelve year olds only just tasting life falling prey to death's unrepentant scythe. Their bodies lay on the bloodied ground serving as mere bumps-doormats now to the feet of their people they sacrificed for and uncaring enemies who took their life.

Amidst this chaotic battle, I did not see Aliea anywhere. She would normally be there eradicating the enemy in plentiful amounts. Never did she miss the opportunity to protect others--so where was she when we need her the most?

My heart sped up as millions of situations collided all at once. Could she be..? No! She can't be that easily defeated. She's okay… at least I hope so.

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"Naruto find Sai then go and look for Kakashi and evacuate the citizens." Sakura's voice was cold and rang off the daunting trees surrounding the trio.

"No Sakura. I know you want to fight him to prove you are no longer that girl so long ago, but the village needs your skills more than they do me. Plus, you don't need to show him who you are as long as you know; so why bother with him?"

"Naruto, I can fight-"

"-Your own battles." Naruto finished. "But Sakura, you always told me not to let my hubris get the best of me, don't you think now's the time to take your own advice?"

Sakura faintly smiled, "you are starting to sound like Aliea--and you're right. Naruto, please don't do anything brash, please don't die you're the only one in this world for me and I… I love you…so much" A stubborn tear she tried to keep at bay fell down her cheek, slowly carving a wet, luster trail. Her voice was no more than a mere whisper when she finished.

Naruto gently smiled as he lent in and kissed the tear away. Slowly his kisses went up to her ear where his breath sent shivers down her spine, "I promise I will return to you because love, our love, will see us through. Now promise me that when I see you next time it will be at the Ramen stand with a huge steaming bowl waiting for me."

Sakura nodded her head, afraid to speak; thinking it may crack as she felt her throat constrict considerably.

Screams broke them away from their precious moment and Sakura placed a chaste kiss on Naruto's moist lips. Though small it may seem, that kiss spoke volumes of their love and dedication for one another. The passion and undying trust they had for their lover passed between those lips, and the silent promise that everything was going to be alright; calmed them down to a point of pure serenity.

"See you later alligator" Naruto smiled as she pulled away unwillingly from his protective arms.

"After while crocodile" was her smiling reply before a puff of green smoke engulfed her and once dispersed, left nothing but matted down grass.

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"Seems like everything is falling into place." A deep chocolaty voice commented. His body was shrouded in shadow as he casually leaned against the stone hut. His piercing black gaze fell onto the person in the furthermost corner drained of all chalkra.

"Yes it is, and best part of all, they will not know what hit them." A sardonic chuckle escaped their throat. "The pawns are doing well in playing out their roles while the rest of the pieces slowly come into play and then…"

"…The power will be all yours again. But what of Sasuke?"

"He surely has complicated things" the person agreed, "but not to an extent where we could not twist it to our advantage."

"And of the Sand?"

"They're game just as long as we hold up the end of the bargain."

"Perfect." The piercing eyed one complimented.

"Yes, it seems the human race is doing exactly as you and I thought it would."

The man gave a curt nod briefly showing his facial features before slowly absorbing into the wall, and leaving nothing within a few short seconds of where he once stood.

Outside, not too far off in the distance, the chained person could hear the bloodied screams of innocent people being slaughtered and maimed. Occasionally a few explosions could be heard, but the screaming of the innocents made that person cringe in mild distaste and cause them to shift their position,

"Damn screaming can't a person get a decent rest without having to hear that?"

**Sorry if it's too short for you, but I thought that it was at least something to hold you guys over 'til the next chapter! But what do you think about that last statement? _shudders_ I've been watching too many horror flicks lately. --;**

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	8. MINE

NOTE:** Hey here's the next chapter, tell me what you think. I need an opinion about what you think of Aliea and your plausible outcome of the fight between Sasuke and Naruto. It would help me determine major factors plotting in my mind at this moment. Hmmm and also I'm having some trouble trying to create the Naruto VS Sasuke fighting scene, so it may take longer than expected to write up the next chapter muchless coming up with an adequate fighting scene. Domen. --**

**Disclaimer: Yeah don't own anything to do with Naruto, save for Aliea, the plot line and other characters bound to pop up in the up-coming chapters.**

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**.READ THE NOTE PLEASE BEFORE CONTINUING!**

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"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura threw a shuriken into the skull of a shadow nin attempting to kill her sensei. "Who are these people and why are they here?" She yelled over the nearly deafening noise taking out a few other enemy nin. Her long hair swayed as she ducked a rather tactless attempt of a five-person barrage before sending some kunai through each of their necks.

"Damn it, I absolutely hate blood!" Was Tsunade's grumbled reply before she threw another shadow nin through two buildings and an oak tree.

Sighing Sakura shook off her inquisitiveness and instead focused on the never-ending sea of ninjas.

Minutes later while using her peripheral vision, she could make out Sai standing on a tiled rooftop with his drawing book out as he conjured up his two favorite tigers from it. Sakura jumped into the air and somersaulted throwing a barrage of kunai before effortlessly landing on the rooftop.

"We need to get Kakashi and start evacuating the citizens!"

"Half of them are dead anyway" came Sai's unfeeling response.

"Well that means half of them are still alive and probably will get in your way. If we remove them now, then I'm sure you can go full out on the enemy without any hindrances." She fought the urge to pat herself on the back for her remarkable deduction and didn't hide her smile when Sai reluctantly nodded his head,

"And what about dead-last?"

_Naruto,_ Sakura's heart fell for a moment as she recalled their kiss, "he's fighting Orochimaru's apprentice."

Sai gave a short nod before turning towards the trees, "are you coming ugly or are you going to stay up here away from the shadow nin?"

Sakura gave an indignant huff before jumping in after him.

_Naruto…_

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Aleia awoke in the early hours of dawn, at first confused with the unfamiliar surroundings before her mind kicked in. Her father showing up, their confrontation and then… Aliea took in a deep breath trying to calm herself. There was no use in wasting energy on wasteful fuming. 

Her sharp green eyes looked around for any possible item that could help her get out of the hell-hole but found nothing but the bundle of blankets and a chipped bowl full of water.

_Hmm, it will have to do_

Precariously she came to her feet, fighting the dizziness fogging over her head. She assumed the poison was meant to keep her comatose for awhile but thanks to Cheveyo-zev and the abilities, her body was able to rid itself of the horrible toxins in two-thirds less of that time.

She closed her eyes to focus on the outside world, her ears strained to listen beyond the thick stone walls that was her prison. The clanging of metal and shouts of various kenji and chalkra jitsus echoed her sensitive ears and for a moment her body tensed in doubting fear.

_What if it doesn't happen? What if it falls apart? What if…everything father says is true? Am I destined to cause pain to others? Can I actually achieve what I set out for? And what of the others? How many have died so far due to my absence? _

Her fists tightly clenched together, causing the color to slowly drain from the knuckles. Self-doubt slowly ate at her mind before the familiar calm, wisdom filled voice took preside over her mind.

'**_I see you doubt the path you have chosen little one. It is understandable when a strong figure of your past shows himself to you again, making you feel like you were when you last laid eyes upon him…but you must know you weren't that little naive girl so long ago. You are stronger in mind, body and spirit. We can finish this, your father and the pain.'_**

_I don't know Cheveyo-zev…I am the child of darkness-_

'_**yes, but not all darkness contains evil and not all light contains those that are pure. Your father along with many imprudent others assume you to fit the role of evil and conniving because of your title, and because of having me dwell within you.'**_

_Last time I checked you and I fit that definition well. In fact our plan is primarily based on bringing pain to those who defied us._

_**That does not mean we are bad for letting others slaughter each other**_

_No just careless and cold-hearted_ she retorted. Her voice became grave and calculating. _Perhaps we could change the plan…_

_**It's far too late to change it now that everything is almost complete.**_

_My chalkra is running thin as it is. _She pointed out, _if the plan continues as is, I will not have enough energy to walk much less fight._

_**You will have enough**_

Aliea fought back a shiver as she felt his merciless smirk form and if she closed her eyes she could almost see his sharp canines barred and unwavering silver gaze looking straight upon her. A foul taste came to her mouth; it was coppery almost like…

"NO!" She shouted as she grabbed her head as if in pain. "You will NOT take over my body, I have commanding power over you!"

**_In due time mistress of the night…in due time you will have to summon me and only then will it be the true testament as to who has power over whom._**

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-----------Meanwhile-----------> 

_WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING WITH **MY** SAKURA!_ Sasuke fumed and tightly clenched his fists at his sides watching Sakura disappear before his eyes. _NO ONE IS TO HOLD HER HEART OTHER THAN ME!_ _NARUTO WILL PAY DEARLY FOR HIS MISTAKE! THEN AFTER I'M THROUGH WITH HIM, SAKURA **WILL** COME BACK WITH ME AND BE **MINE**!_

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Naruto gave a wicked grin baring his sharp canines, "finally realized that you could've had what I now have, and you currently possess green eye?" He took a fighting stance, planting his feet shoulder-width apart with his left hand in front, while the other was poised like a scorpion's stinger. "Sakura is her own person, a human being not to be claimed or possessed like some stupid china doll. I love her, but I will not fight you merely on the basis to claim her as mine or her as yours; she can fight for that herself, I on the other hand, will fight you for the pain and self-centered bull crap you put everyone through. For Konoha, for Sakura and for me, it will do nothing less than honor to pound your face into the soiled ground you trod on."

"Is that so Naruto?" Sasuke's voice spoke amusement while his eyes showed nothing but loathing distaste, "you forget of our last encounter."

"I was holding back then Sasuke, a mistake I will not repeat a second time."

"We'll see about that."

Lightning cracked overhead and was soon followed by its sibling, thunder. Naruto and Sasuke both took it as their signal to start their fight and equally disappeared before reappearing ten feet to the north next to one another each meeting their fists with their opponents in a resounding crack that shook the ground below them.

The fight for Sakura Haruno has finallycommenced…or has it?

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**So the fight has started and mostly every main character is in motion for their valuable parts in this 'war' if you would like to call it that. The question now remains, what the hell is going on? And I could only answer it as such: All in due time… R&R**


	9. The Foreboding Retreat

**NOTE: I think this is my longest yet and I have been toying with this and editing it furiously. Hopefully all of you will enjoy it. I'm already starting on the next chapter and since I had a four hour trip to a Jazz competition both ways, I had plenty of time to write it and hopefully I'll update the next chapter within the week. Tell me your thoughts; I love to hear from you!**

**READ THE BOTTOM! _YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO MOLD THE STORY WITH THE GIVEN OPTIONS AT THE END!_**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Hard labored breathing echoed off the stillness in the air. Their breath tainted with specks of blood as they exhaled strenuously. Off in the distance, the sound of a relentless battle echoed like a phantom through their ears, but none paid heed for they were engrossed in their standoff-staring match. Blood-lusting eyes gave a piercing glare into cobalt eyes that lost all trace of vivaciousness that, only minutes ago, was once prominent.

An eerie coldness settled upon their bones slowly weaving its unfeeling grasp upon tendons, veins and muscles. It was supposed to be mid-summer, but that chill running down their spine made it seem mid-winter. Both men held back a shudder and with a twitch of pale skin, the fight resumed its unrelenting ferocity.

Crimson soon became the dominant color as it splayed everywhere upon each earth shattering impact occurring. Trees were spotted, the ground was matted and the flowers drowned in a life-giving liquid turned assassin of all that was once pure.

This was the end in the beginning. The beginning of a terminated friendship and the beginning of unfathomable fate that would end all secrets and create chaos…

This was Hell.

The ripping of flesh brought their outburst to a minor halt as both men jumped backwards taking only a second to look for damage before jumping back into the fray.

If you were here, at this very moment you couldn't see them for they were going too fast for a normal human to witness. If you were lucky enough to witness it, you would see their pattern as a complicated dance. And know if there was one mess up, it could mean their life and both men had all to loose and little to gain, neither of which were giving up their malicious onslaught. Their deadly two-step was only just beginning.

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"Miss. Sizukki please listen to me-"

"Not until my son comes home!"

A woman in her late forties furiously struggled against Sakura's soft but firm grasp. Wisps of her graying hair fell from her tight bun as the woman successfully slipped away.

"But-"Sakura began to protest with irritation clearly lining her voice when she was interrupted by a hard voice,

"You son's dead, staying here is rather pointless if you're waiting for a corpse, after all; it's not going anywhere." Sai stepped beside Sakura with his gaze as cold as a mountain spring; glaring almost condescendingly upon the foolhardy woman.

Sakura sent a glare at Sai before lightly taking the woman, and escorting her to the Han-kure safe house where medi-nins in training were chaotically tending to injuries.

"I'm sorry about Sai Miss. Sizukki, we don't know anything about Tao-or anyone for that matter-"

Sakura frowned when Sizukki's pale face only nodded numbly. She already detested the war only hours into it. She hated the unnecessary blood-shed, but what she despised the most were the families left behind to mourn over their loved ones, easily dismissed by the higher authorities as if they were nothing but mold on bread.

Tristan, who himself was covered in blood, took Miss. Sizukki's arm and pulled her gently down the stairs sending a gaze to Sakura asking if she needed any medical attention. Sakura merely shook her head at the trainee before heading out the entrance door.

Sighing, she turned to her left and witnessed the pure hell wreaking havoc everywhere her eyes landed. Her stomach gave a lurch as a morbid conclusion came to mind,

_We can't win…there's too many of them!_

In her panicked state, Sakura went to the first person that came to mind. And shot off in the general direction she believes he was in.

Halfway there she stopped; frozen in fear as she saw the last thing she'd hoped to never see.

"No…"

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"Tobias, how convenient of you to show up."

A man in his mid-twenties kneeled down and kissed Orochimaru's left hand. His black cloak fanned about the floor in a princely manner, while his tight, sleeveless turtleneck made of leather clung to every contour of his well-chiseled chest. The slight wind caressed his long raven locks, pushing way his long bangs to show his pale blue eyes reflecting off the golden ring on Orochimaru's ring finger. From both Tobias' right and left wrists to his elbows was a leather strap with a long sai attached each both gleaming dangerously in the dimly lighted room. His red pants contrasted brightly against the dark marbled floor and lopsidedly, two utility belts slanted from his left hip to just below the waist.

Then the most daunting weapon he possessed wickedly gleamed. Not even an effort was made to hide it; his scythe with a blade made of the blackest diamonds in the world. This blade was guaranteed to never dull or break. The rest of the body was made of titanium and ornately sculpted into a perfect pearl sheen. However the pearl sheen only served as a background to the dry blood spatter scattered everywhere and the various sculpted spirals and Celtic designs were drenched in the engravings giving them a darker crimson hue.

"Sorry it took long my lord, Thaed did not give me the scroll 'til after I fed him some mongoose meat."

"Blaming your inability to come here at the time given on the raven shows incompetence."

"well then" Tobias stood up and gazed slightly passed Orochimaru's face, "good thing I'm not blaming am I?" The man smirked as he and Orochimaru began to walk down the dismal corridors, "the scroll was vague, you said the army is well and Sasuke is close."

The blue-eyed man came to a halt and held out his arm waiting for an answer.

"Always one to get to the point eh Tobias?" He jeered. "Hn, I knew I made the right decision putting you as second in command."

"What do you want me to do? Another pitiful job?" The traces of amusement left Tobias' voice and were replaced with one of groaning impatience.

"I want you to oversee-"

"I am being reduced to a mere babysitter now? Might as well-"

"Silence Tobias, I could replace you keep in mind."

"Yes, but then you'll loose a mastermind tactician **and** your best fighter." He briefly paused before beckoning Orochimaru, "sorry my lord, continue as you will."

"I want you to oversee someone. I am having you fulfilling this job because you're well-suited for handling her and I trust nothing will harm her unless it's you preventing her escape. She's still weak from the poisoning and when she wakes up her chalkra will resemble nothing."

Piqued interest in this girl gradually built up. Who was she to not be killed by the ruthless snake demon? Perhaps it was Sasuke's love interest Sakuno? Sankura?

"Who is she?"

Orochimaru opened the heavy wood door of the Rain Village's most predominant (now deceased thanks to Sasuke) family, the Wakamono's mansion. They both strode in even-paced strides down a gently rolling slope towards an old stone hut that once housed a few servants. There he took out a misshaped nickel key and unlocked the door to the window-less hut.

"She, Tobias, is your once-betrothed."

"Kana" he gasped and at once drunk in her sleeping form.

Her hair was dyed brown and cut short to her shoulder-blades. No longer had she possessed the long-flowing ebony hair and for a moment he hesitated to believe it was her until his eyes rested upon her slumbering face.

Her dark eyelashes kissed her cheeks and her plump, pink lips were parted slightly as she evenly breathed.

It was her, he confirmed. Many a night he had watched her sleep and her facial expression was always the same; peaceful, vulnerable and breathtaking.

He reached out attentively and caressed her soft face,

"It's been a long time" he murmured as he followed every contour of her face.

"Indeed Tobias, it has." Orochimaru kept his gaze steady on Tobias' wandering hand before he spoke out in a deathly calm voice that had an underlying threat woven intricately into it. Had it been someone else, they might not have caught it, but Tobias did. "I trust you will keep your eyes on her?"

"I will, but why did she come back? Last time I ever talked to her was just after her discovery that it was you who murdered her mother and the rest of the royals."

"She didn't come willingly if that's what you're implying."

"She will be irate when she wakes up." Tobias pulled away his hand, already missing the warmth of her face, and turned to face his lord.

"I count on it, but she will learn to accept this position and turn on the village she foolishly once protected."

"Forgive me lord for saying this, but are you that dense? She's been holding her mother's death against you for six, nearly seven years! What makes you so confident about your assumption?"

"She had grown over the years. Though I let her go, I did not loose track of her entirely. As you can tell, her physique had changed greatly, though dying her hair I could condone." Orochimaru waved a hand in her direction to give emphasis. "But emotionally she has matured enough to have a mind of an old man of wisdom. Her mind is sharper and possesses enough commonsense to even make myself envious. Still, she is my daughter" Orochimaru walked over to her bed and took her warm hand into his cold, callused hands, "and I love her more than my revenge and hatred upon Konoha. And when she wakes up, I will tell her the reason why I killed Aurora, but until then" he released her hand and turned to gaze fiercely into Tobias' pale orbs, "keep a diligent watch on her."

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"Retreat!" Jiraiya's voice boomed over the entire land with foreboding tones. And it was, in turn, returned by the foreboding silence as each ninja hesitated to leave. A second later the Konoha nins disappeared leaving behind the countless dead and merciless shadow nin to do as they please with the barren village that once stood tall.

The tide was turning in the favor of darkness. Jiraiya with his calling a retreat was well aware of that factor. He knew as well as the other Hokages, that all responsibility to quell the darkness was not present. The persons themselves had their own fears to conquer before they became able enough to fight it…by then it could all be too late. A dark frown marred his features before pushing the final lock through its place. With a hallow click bouncing off the cold, metal walls, the remaining citizens and warriors of Konoha were locked in as darkness of the night descended upon their grave faces.

_I hope we chose wisely. _He grimly closed his eyes as he walked down the halls towards the meeting room where he and the rest of the Hokages would discuss further details concerning certain matters. His heavy footsteps reflected his solemn heart, _so far things are not boding well, what if our trust was mislead?_

Indeed, what if everything they thought was right turned out to be wrong? That a trust in one person could very well mean the certain downfall of the Hidden Leaf Village and most of the Fire country? What if, despite everything, they loose?

_What if…_

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**Well, I am really at a horrible writters block. Though I have nearly finished the next chapter I feel that my concentration is dwindeling substantually. And I REALLY need to know what you people want for the next chapter? Which character do you want me to focus on? So message me and tell me, but mind you, some of these characters come with a twist that will leave you yelling at the computer. These are the choices:**

**Aliea/Kana: Her history and why Orochimaru killed her mother**

**Naruto: His POV during a fight scene**

**Sasuke: His POV when fighting Naruto seeing just how...well can't give that away yet**

**Kakashi: Does he actually love Aliea and his feelings of the war...and will he live?**

**Orochimaru: Enough said**

**Tobias: Is he really as creepy as he seems.**

**Sakura: Will she leave Kakashi...?**

**Other: Who and why?**


	10. If Only For A Little While

**NOTE: I think I'm going to take a long break…My muses seem to be dimming and I've lost most inspiration I have depended on. I think due to my abrupt lack of activities I am this way…I don't know. What I do know is I don't feel as if my writing is going anywhere and that certain things are no longer tying into my very core of deceit for this series. I also feel like I'm taking this too slow as do a few perturbed anonymous people whom I have deleted their vulgar comments. So this chapter may be the last one I'll write in a long time…I really hope it's not and perhaps it won't be…I am just speaking hypothetically to a point of great possibility. **

**Also I would like everyone to note that I've been dropping a lot of hints as to the fate of many characters in this story. A name's meaning here, and underlying talk there…so if you're curious and trying to decipher this story that I assure you is not all as it appears, try to read the chapters again and see if you could pick them up. Adieu! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

…If Only For A Little While…

The fight, our fight held years of anger and betrayal. Both of us hated the other for all different reasons and some of those the same. What fueled us, what made us push each other to our near breaking points, was a rivalry so primal and bred into our system that it bordered on the edge of spitefulness, though not entirely there yet. What I do know is this fight was more than just claiming the cherry blossom but to denounce any existence of friendship we ever had, to denounce all memories associated with the other…though the memories I once shared, became vague and blurred to the point of my questioning how we became friends in the first place…

I could not remember.

Why couldn't I remember? Am I too concerned about killing Itachi that anything not concerning him was a memory I erased? But then again…I could not recall why I came to hate him, I just knew I did. In fact, everything I did was out of hate and that is what has fueled me for the past years. Everything I hated…everything but Sakura. I remember everything about her and often found myself lusting for anything about her. So why was it, it was only her that I remembered and no one else?

I know I care for her…perhaps more than I should. It is weak to succumb to my emotions-so why do I feel at peace when I allow myself to indulge in such sinful products such as those?

Emotions are for the weak…

"Sakura-"

"Shut up Kakashi. We're nearly there."

"You should've left me to die, where you found me." His voice was cracked and riddled with immeasurable pain. Sakura had healed him to her greatest capacity, but because of her previous use of chalkra on and against others, she only had twenty-five percent to work with and she feared that she hadn't closed the wound properly and judging by his voice, she was correct in her assumption.

She sighed as she struggled with his weight pressed upon her shoulders. She could vividly recall what happened when she stumbled across him….

"_No!"_

_Kakashi's bloodied body was sprawled on the freshly cut grass and he wasn't responsive to anything around him._

_She fell ungracefully to her knees and went to check for a pulse silently praying there would be one._

"_C'mon-" she whispered as she searched for the pulse spot and to her great relief, she felt the weak pulse still pumping stubbornly yet slowly dying. "Hold on Kaka-sama"_

_She furrowed her brows in deep concentration. Everything around her became non-exsistant save for Kakashi and her. Soon her hands traveled down his chest to his abdomen and unconsciously they pulled the material away from the gaping wound. Sweat beaded from her brows as she felt strands of her pink chalkra seep elegantly through the wound and she saw what the strands saw. Clearly she could see his twisted insides spewing blood everywhere and in whichever organ the blood could claim and instead of feeling queasy she felt calm with a completely blank mind and allowed her chalkra sense take complete control._

_Meticulously, the strands wove in and out of holes closing them and then moving on to other gapes. Other strands gathered the access blood and redirected it out of the body and into a pool near Sakura's knees. Mumbling she performed a blood-replenishing jitsu as soon as the holes were closed and began to disinfect the wounds before rapidly closing up the muscle tissue and epidermis._

_She knew she did a poor job, had she more chalkra she could've easily done a better one taking more time to perfect each wound…_

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"_You're weak."_

Those words stung her like a viper's venomous bite. How those words popped up accompanied by the cold voice speaking them she didn't know nor wanted to dwell upon. Yet she couldn't rip them away either. To some extent they became her savior words, they made her work harder than ever to disprove that statement. She trained everyday, and it became her addiction to the point of her unyielding for break until she felt that the set technique to remember for that day was flawlessly done and powerfully executed. And before long, those words faded but not the feeling to disprove them-_everyone-_ of the weak kuniochi they became accustomed to. And soon she showed everyone just how great a fighter and medi-nin she became. She was the only ninja to not possess a family trait handed down from generations…and that's what caught Tsunade's attention, because she, like her, had no trait to rely upon either. Just an abnormal strength and that is among the first things the Hokage taught her.

But what the Hokage couldn't teach her properly was controlling your emotions and strengthening your mind more so than just medical procedures. Aleia had become her mentor for that. She had taught her everything there is to know about simple mind control and emotional procedures; how to act in many situations- to become stoic despite a waging inferno of emotions welling inside of you twisting your gut unpleasantly. What Aleia taught was unforgettable, that despite missions, you can have emotions ruling your life as long as you have complete control over them. Showing emotions is a trait not designed for the weak- that those trying to avoid said things were just denying the truth of what will always remain there. Because of her, Sakura found peace and a person she could truly look up to and know she would never betray her…ever.

Aleia her mentor, her confidant, her sister-figure and her rock was everything to her. Aleia, perhaps the most devoted fighter to Konoha inspired her to do some good in the world. To not give up in a seemingly calloused place no matter how dark; to persevere even in times of doubt.

Aliea the ever faithful Jounin…

"_What's the point in helping people, when others destroy? The whole entire world is evil full of deceit and cruel manipulators so what's the point in doing anything good when in the end, it doesn't even matter?" Sakura crossed her arms and fell ungracefully onto Aleia's leather couch, her face was contorted with anger._

_Aleia only laughed as she exited the kitchen with two steaming cups of tea before sitting down next to Sakura._

"_I'm serious Aleia!" Sakura bit hostilly towards the smiling woman, mad at her for being so happy when she was not. She felt like a child at the moment, being laughed at for believing that there was a monster in the closet. _

"_Sakura it is precisely why we help others."_

_Sakura showed a mask of utter confusion and annoyance thinking she was not making any sense._

"_No matter how hard anyone tries there will be evil people in this world, and so will there be good. It's the whole yin yang concept to balance out the universe. You can't have good without the bad, the chocolate without the vanilla, or night without the day."_

"_But what's the point?" Sakura seethed as she waved her hands, "why even bother when it's guaranteed to be there in the morning when you wake up?"_

"_The point is that when you wake up in the morning good will be there as well. And those good people who fight against evil everyday hold true and spur others into following their path. That as long as there is one soul in pain they would be there to help the soul find its way." There was a brief pause as Aleia looked forward with her brows furrowed in thought and she began to talk with more conviction,_

"_Even if all hope is lost and evil seems to be winning the battle, good no matter in what form it currently holds, will always be there if not, to bring hope to others. To avenge those who couldn't defend themselves. The ideal is always there Sakura, and with ideals come those who devote themselves to reaching them."_

"_Do you believe in that?" Sakura wanted to hit herself for such an obvious question and waited to hear Aleia laugh at her, but she didn't. Instead she saw deep trepidation marring her features,_

"_I try to attain it Sakura, though in all honesty, I have failed in reaching it many times. However; as long as I try, I feel that I am good, but knowing if I do give up, I will essentially become what I loathe. That is what I believe Sakura."_

"_You know what I believe?" _

"_Tell me"_

"_I believe you are the best good-guy around. That no matter what, you'll never stray from your morals. I believe in you Aleia and focus myself to try to be as great as you-"_

"_-You are setting me up to be some god Sakura. I am not as you perceive me to be, nor do I think will ever attain what you see of me. Try not to set yourself up for disappointment and become your own person and no other, never aspire to be some one else because in the end you will fail."_

"_But-"_

"_-nothing." Aleia stood up with her untouched tea and walked into the kitchen, "I am going on a mission that could very well kill me Sakura, and will be gone for a year if I manage to live. In this time I suggest you pull away from your fantasies and live up to your expectations of yourself and train to your fullest capacities and beyond. If I return I expect you to reach Jounin status."_

_--------------_

Sakura spent that year dating Naruto and working her ass off training to her near breaking point and beyond. She began training with Kakashi on every aspect of his sharnigan eye so as to become immune incase Sasuke chose to show his face near Konoha and strengthened her mind to a point where even the famous copy ninja could no longer predict and perform her moves.

In that short year, she became the strongest and smartest kuniochi ever to live in Konoha. It was mostly in part of Aleia and her absence that helped her become this way and in other aspects she had to give credit towards Sasuke as well.

Sasuke…She wondered if she still had feelings for him like she did six years ago and in some aspects she did. She cared for his well-being and for only a mila-second did she feel butterflies in her stomach upon first glance. He was, after all; her first love. But she had moved on right? Naruto was the exact opposite of Sasuke and never denied his feelings towards her. He made her feel wanted, loved and everything she could ever expect from a lover…

_Then why do I feel like I do when I'm around Naruto and the same for Sasuke? I couldn't love him…ever again, not after what he did…I think_

"Learn every mistake you did, and move on. Wars are forever waged, valuable seconds are never returned, forever lost, hope wavers, life darkens, but it's your ability to continue on when others do not that sets you aside from the rest, and knowing this, life seems more bearable if only for a little while."

I am not perfect, I believe I have firmly established that countless times, but I feel the need to reiterate it if not for others, but for myself. I've always lived my life with what I just spoke it prompted me to live in situations where I should've died and helped me through my darkest times. I will never compromise myself or others to attain materialistic goals…

never.

This I promise to myself and others…but now that theory seems to wane as I face the toughest obstacle to my goal, my father. Will I be able to execute this fully? Cheveyo-Zev thinks so as he rightly claims that no others save for the ones involved, know. I just hope I can endure long enough for it to unfurl.

So I repeat with more conviction,

"Learn every mistake you did, and move on. Wars are forever waged, valuable seconds are never returned, forever lost, hope wavers, life darkens, but it's your ability to continue on when others do not that sets you aside from the rest, and knowing this, life seems more bearable if only for a little while."

No matter how dark everything seems, I shall continue because that is what I do best. I face the worst and live for another round. I live through the pain because the pain lives through me.

I cannot escape who or what I am, and I have no intention of doing so. Running proves nothing, but standing straight and facing whatever may come speaks volumes.

I am Kana and Aleia, daughter of the snake demon, and possessor of the strongest and most lethal weapon unknown to man. I was born into damnation and will die into damnation, but what I do between then is all my own doing, fate only takes part in the ending and even then I'll be damned if I allow it to control me…


	11. And the pieces start to fall apart

**I don't own Naruto, though any characters such as Aleia, Tobias and erm…other non-naruto characters are mine.**

**Oh and for added effect to this piece I suggest all of you listen to Far Away by Nickelback, it really expresses the ending well.**

**R and R my peeps!**

Silence.

Everywhere there was nothing but a suffocating silence so thick in its fog that even a deaf man could hear it bearing down upon everyone's soul. Nothing seemed alive, there were no birds calling out their melodious tunes nor was there even a rustle of the trees with the dead wind blowing through them. Houses were mere skeletons, some burnt to ashes, others crumbling and most abandoned by the joyous people who once inhabited these white-washed, picket-fenced homes. Shops were left unlocked, doors clinging upon their last hinges before clanging on the ground in a phantom manner. Worst yet, were the countless men, women and children covering the streets with their decaying corpses, dark blood stains covered every inch of the ground, soiling it with undesired violence.

Konoha seemed surrealistic at best. As if this mere sight was just an illusion, but common sense would tell you that no one would be powerful enough to conjure up such an illusion, no matter how much they desired for it to be so. There was no escaping such vivid details; details which will forever haunt many nightmares.

Despite all of this destruction there was hope. As the surviving people of the city took refuge in a jitsu-proof retreat and found solace with one another as they related their own stories, and shared in one another's grief. This hope was fueled even more passionately when they heard of Naruto's fight with Sasuke, when they heard of Sakura's amazing stamina for healing and protecting, for the copy-ninja's calm demeanor, and for Aleia's hopeful return to spur their damaged spirits with her wisdom and powerful speeches………………………

* * *

"You have become stronger Naruto" Sasuke arched his back narrowly missing two kunai and pushed himself into a back flip, landing with cat-like grace. 

"I could say the same to you Sasuke, but I promised Sakura I wouldn't lie."

"Tsch, Sakura is mine Naruto she always had been and forever will and no kyuubi like you will change that."

Sasuke felt hot fire course through his veins as he tapped into the seal's power slowly loosing himself in the hot darkness. He knew the only possible way to defeat his once-friend was by using the Cursed Seal and that may not be enough should Naruto summon the fox, but he was an Uchiha and an Uchiha always achieved what they wanted and he wanted the cherry blossom for himself and only him to touch, take and claim.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in concentration and paused in mid reach of a kunai. Sasuke's chakra level began to rise quickly and black markings started to form all over his skin. Naruto didn't like were this was going but knew that if he didn't hold back the nine tailed fox, chaos would ensue everywhere and even though he could defeat Sasuke with the summoned beast, he wouldn't be able to control it, and might end up killing his once best friend more importantly other innocent by-standers-and maybe even Sakura.

His heart jolted at the thought of his love and it constricted even more at the probability of killing her because he couldn't control the curse of his life.

No, he couldn't risk that, he would have to get by on his own skill, luck, and wit, and he knew it wouldn't be easy. But his life never was easy, always having to disprove everyone, living alone with no friends until the academy where he met Sakura, and his ever aspiring goal to one day become Hokage.

He knew though, he couldn't win unless he was willing to kill Sasuke and it tore at him viciously when he realized that, but when it came down to the wire and he had to choose between the safety of Konoha and his Sakura against that of a missing nin who once was a friend, he'd choose Sakura and Konoha any day.

And now the only thing he had to do was follow through. And as the old clichéd saying went:

it was easier said then done.

* * *

Aleia was miserable, frustrated and the predominant feeling at the moment; anticipation. 

Her plan was drawing near enough to a point where she could taste it, yet it was stale enough to avoid the sensational taste of sweet honey. Sure the pieces were moving accordingly with the acceptations of a few adaptations, but the overall bang of the project was yet in store as the sole of her beastly project had yet to capture the enemy fully into its mouth- into a point of no return.

She felt as though some pieces where missing, but knew and planned well ahead of time that problems were bound to spring up even in the most crucial parts and was ready to adapt to the bountiful imps of disaster.

Just because she did those precautions, did in no way ease her nerves. And she, despite her calm exterior, was a raging torrent of doubt and constant struggle between good and evil. Her heart tore at the plausible reactions of many she had grown to love and the thought of being called a traitor by whomever remained after this war; never ceased to cause pain within her. She knew what she had to do and spent many years planning this to a point of even with her slight change of heart, she wouldn't turn back.

A shaky sigh escaped her lips and rapidly after, she felt the cold shadow back in the corner that was waiting for her command. She closed her eyes and collected herself, the shadow too was apprehensive but nonetheless awaited to carry out her orders for he was forever loyal to the Shadow Princess.

His reverie was shortly interrupted with her calm and commanding words reverberating off the dank walls and he tensed at her words,

"Send the signal out to the Kaze-sama, tell them Konoha is weak and the snake awaits the venom."

The shadow without a word disappeared with only whisper, leaving Aleia alone to collect her thoughts and for a moment she just stood there. Waiting for a sign of what she was about to do was wrong-and received none. And so she picked up a bumpy pillow and reached inside its stuffing and slowly pulled out a scroll containing the only jitsu in the world that would eliminate not only a demon forever but the vessel from which it resided in. She clutched it tightly and winced as the strain of chakra became even more unbearable, she would have to do this before all of the chakra ran out and soon.

* * *

"We're almost there Kakashi, please don't give up now." She whispered as the stronghold came into view. Kakashi was far too weak to pick up his legs to walk and his eyes were slightly foggy from the pain. 

Sakura had tried to heal him, and cursed herself for being so weak in a time like this. She should've known better than to spend all of her chakra so early in a battle.

_Tsunade should be happy_ she thought with much sarcasm.

Sensing a disturbance in the atmosphere Sakura immediately dropped Kakashi unceremoniously to the ground and spun around in time to catch three kunai between her elegant fingers. The loose tendrils of pink hair whipped around fluidly before dropping to her shoulders as she stopped her movement with planted feet shoulder-width apart. Her eyes narrowed at the area where they came from and put her senses on high alert.

Glancing down she saw Kakashi and bit her bottom lip, she had to kill whoever it was and fast if she wanted him to live. But just seeing his pale skin and uncontrollable shuddering, she knew that he was, by medical standards, too far gone unless she could heal him right there within a minute.

The silent rush of wind coming from her left alerted her to the rapid approach of her opponent and she waited. Fluidly she ducked and kicked the attacker sending him skidding a meter with his feet digging into the ground. Her foot pounded in pain and she knew it was broken,

"Kuso," she murmured as she jumped away from a barrage of shuriken and started to form a rapid jitsu. She barely had enough chakra to perform it but it was her only hope.

This jitsu was taught to her by Aleia; a jitsu where you suck out your enemy's chakra and soak it into your system. This was of course a risky technique because the scenario for most would make the person getting the chakra die because of their inability to fuse it as their own and control it. But if it meant ending this fight quickly and healing Kakashi properly, she would do anything.

Even if she had to give up her life.

* * *

"Oi Gaara, how long do we have to wait?" Kankuro yelled from across the fire to his younger, red haired brother. He was on edge waiting to be let off his leash and he could sense everyone's uneasiness, hell his sister lashed out at him for breathing too loud. 

"When the messenger comes" Gaara spoke monotonously. His green eyes reflected the fire before him and he too was itching to be given the signal to fight.

Even though he was able to control his demon, he still thirsted for blood every once in a while and sometimes to quell that blood-lust he would go on some missions himself, though the Kazekage is not supposed to. And some part of him missed the senseless killing he did when he was twelve, but he wouldn't go back to who he was. The villagers finally respected him, his relationships with his siblings was great and most importantly he had friends like Naruto and Sakura who always saw the better side of him even at his darkest moments. He cared a lot about that and wouldn't trade it for all the spilt blood in the world.

What he didn't care for though, was the debt from which he had to pay by being here, and at night when he meditated he could hear the unbearable screams of the hidden leaf village citizens and mentally berated himself for getting into the situation he is now in.

He hated waiting.

* * *

"Something is not right." Tsunade stood up from her position at the head of the table and felt all the rest of the hokages casting bewildered glances at her sudden declaration. 

"Well" Jiraya spoke, "of course nothing is alright, there's a war going on!"

"No not that dobe! I am talking about Sakura!"

"What of her?"

"I feel weird and when I get this feeling something bad always happens to her-we have to go out there and get her!"

"I could retrieve her Tsunade." Shizune stepped away from the wall and bowed respectfully, "it is not wise for you to go out there at this moment."

"Shizune I can-"

"-She's right" Jiraya interrupted, "you have your duties as Hokage if you get killed the repercussions on everyone could result in absolute terror causing mass panic to a point where there would be no hope whatsoever for this village to remain ever again."

Though she didn't like to sit and do nothing while the outside world was in turmoil, she knew Jiraya was right-for once in his life and cursed.

She needed some sake.

With a nod she sent Shizune off, her stomach tightening as every minute passed,

"Please be alright Sakura."

* * *

Sakura successfully completed the jitsu, but it went horribly wrong as her body went rigid as a blazing inferno engulfed her. 

Biting back a scream she concentrated on purifying the dark chakra wrecking havoc on her body.

"Ah!" she yelled out. Her knees were bent and she fought to stay upright as her legs began to shake. Making a swift decision, she cut off the jitsu, figuring she had enough and soon after, her body was able enough to do damage to the fighter.

When she locked her gaze upon the crouched enemy, she let out an astonished gasp as her green eyes met red,

"Sasuke?" _But how? Wasn't he fighting Naruto? Where is Naruto, is he alright?_ "Where is Naruto?" She demanded answers but feared what the answer maybe. She fought back that foreboding feeling from the back of her head and held back an ominous shudder.

Sasuke straightened his back his face contorted into a smirk,

"Naruto is dead, and you Sakura are mine."

Anger flared about her and a sense of hopelessness encased her soul.

_Naruto_ she feebly thought as she felt her heart tearing apart and one look into Sasuke's cold eyes fueled her thirst of revenge ten-fold.

_How dare he take away Naruto from me! I loved him and now he just thinks I'll come back and love him? That bastard!_

"My heart belongs to no one but Naruto you bastard!" tears flowed from her eyes and she furiously blinked them away, "I loved him" her voice trailed off before she snapped her head up and glared at Sasuke with all the hate in the world, "prepare to die Uchiha." Venom dripped from every word with every intention to sting him like a thousand wasps.

Much to her hatred Sasuke's smirk formed into a sick grin, a grin that made her body cold, "you couldn't kill me Sakura; you're just a weak kuniochi."

Sakura didn't seem surprised to hear him say that, after all; it was his favorite catch phrase when they were younger and it seemed to her as though every bad guy she came across just couldn't leave the past behind,

"Naruto believed in me when I believed that foolish statement Uchiha, long ago when I was a naive little girl but those words are meaningless to me now; I could careless of what you say." Surprisingly she was calm and collected her emotions as she spoke determinedly to the Uchiha, "Naruto knew what I was capable of and supported me in my darkest moments of life, he was there for me and for that I love him. For his ability to see the beauty in anything no matter how hideous or cruel even you Sasuke." She let out a weak laugh, "he never gave up on you, even when you became an S class missing nin he believed that once you were retrieved everything would be fine and you two could go back to your odd relationship. He believed in everything turning out alright in the end. And you destroyed that spirit, be-because you killed him, but for him… I will prove that I am not weak-" her voice cracked and strained as she saw a flash of Naruto's unassuming smile and for a moment she could have sworn she heard his velvety laughter, "for him, I wont kill you, but I will defeat you where your fate will end up in the hands of the people you turned your back on. Then I cannot guarantee where your fate lies.

Uchiha Sasuke, enemy of Konoha, I will defeat you." She declared with a resounding confidence undeterred by memories of when they were young, and she moved gracefully into her fighting stance ready for Sasuke, ready to show him the weak Haruno Sakura of long ago has since died and replaced with a strong, confident medi-nin who possessed unrivaled skill. Ready, she was, to disprove his idea of her still loving him, but more importantly she wanted to teach Sasuke a lesson he would never forget for the rest of his awful life, leaving behind a memory of what he could never possess, leaving him nightmares of the day he dared to cross her path and kill the man of her dreams. He will regret every mistake he made without an ounce of repenting, that she was sure of.

Sasuke's eyes blazed with amusement as he took in the determined woman before him and he felt turned on as she sent him those glares with her defiant chin jutting out in a challenging manner. She seemed different-cute almost, and fighting her would be an easy win. Maybe he could play with her a bit? Afterall, she still loved him and would hold back,

_hn weak, easy little win._

But then again-he could be wrong.

And indeed he would learn that the little kuniochi was a flower with many thorns.

* * *

Tell me what you think and please don't kill me, everything happens for a reason and I congradulate everyone who guessed right for Naruto being killed off. Owari! 


	12. Death's Bloodied Scythe

**So here it is the big fight scene between Sasuke and Sakura, and nothing else but it! And don't worry my peeps, there is the much anticipated LIME in here! well erm…I'll get started then shall I? hehehe **

**_WARNING_: CONTAINS MINOR LIME CONTENT; This chapter is also, shorter than the usual.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto grumbles

* * *

**

**OH and Please review, this is perhaps a fight scene done all too quickly and not detailed enough and if you have any input to better it, I'll be more than enthralled to hear from you!

* * *

**

Sasuke grinned as he got into his fighting stance and called out to her contemptuously,

"Sakura, stop fooling yourself you cannot even hope to defeat me even when you did take some of my chakra."

To his surprise she returned the mocking smile and moved her back foot an inch to get a better grip, "no Sasuke, I believe_ you_ are fooling yourself."

With that said she disappeared from sight and rapidly reappeared behind him causing him to arch forward as her leg made contact on his lower spine. Before he could intake air, she was in front of him and landed a series of punches in his abdomen finally finishing it off with a swift kick on his upper chest sending him flying into a birch tree.

Not giving him any chance to recover; she grabbed two shuriken from her waist pouch and threw them at his chest and instantly they pierced his flesh. Her emerald eyes narrowed thinking that was far too easy and soon she realized her assumption was correct as the once Sasuke turned into a log.

Closing her eyes; she felt a disturbance to the left of her and waited in meditation for him to strike.

It was not long after when Sasuke re-emerged and aimed for her pressure point in the junction of her neck and shoulder. Swiftly she maneuvered to the side and grabbed his arm with her super human strength and twisted it until she heard the satisfying snap of bone.

Sasuke took in a sharp breath and slipped from her grip, once again taking refuge in the overgrowth.

Inner Sakura was pumping her fist while loudly thanking Tsunade for showing such maneuvers. But on the outside her senses were on high alert and her face stoically calm. She struggled to find his chakra signature and cursed underneath her breath for allowing him to easily escape her grip.

A small groan came to her left and she snapped her head to see Kakashi clutching his stomach in pain. Clutching her fists in frustration, she upped her chakra senses to pick up Sasuke so she could get everything over with. Kakashi needed her.

"Boo" a dark voice whispered dangerously into her ear and before she could register what was happening, she was sent flying across the area.

Coming out of her small shock she flipped forward with her feet before her and pushed off the tree sending her back in the direction she came from.

Rapidly, her elegant fingers wove intricate symbols and when she finished; vines covered in thorns sprung out from the earth and tightly laced around Sasuke in a deathly grip.

Sakura didn't wait around to see her own handiwork and instead found herself near Kakashi's side.

Taking out a worn scroll she commenced to do multiple jitsus at a time and within minutes; completely healed Kakashi into a small week long coma for his body to rest and begin some natural healing processes of its own.

She stood up and turned to the area where she last saw Sasuke and found the vines constricting a log instead.

_Fuck-_

"oof!" a piercing pain exploded in her stomach area causing her legs to give out and fall into Sasuke's open arms.

"You are stronger Sakura." She could feel his degrading smile upon her and her eyes narrowed into slits,

"Glad you acknowledge that Uchiha" she spat before stabbing a kunai into his left arm. Pushing off him, she jumped to where she was a good ten feet away.

Rapidly her mind began to dissect every possible tactic with her eyes sharply trained on the wounded Uchiha. She knew he wasn't fighting her to his full potential, his lacking use of the family trait a dead give away, and yet she knew that Naruto wore him down as much as he could-but not enough.

A small frown came to her face as she acknowledged facts and discarded other possibilities. She had to save the remainder of her chakra while wearing him down, a feat that would prove very strenuous and hard to accomplish.

* * *

He couldn't believe it. The sweet, innocent cherry blossom was now a vicious vixen hell bent on killing him. This was a side he never witnessed before and it caught him quite off guard, but in the same instance intrigued him even further. It made him wonder what else she was capable of.

He acknowledged that she was full of surprises. Her speed, strength and flexibility astounded him to no end. And he let a smirk loose onto his features as he took his goddess in.

Her breasts were full to a C cup; heaving up and down with every breath she took; her neck muscles flexing with every twitch of her slender fingers and her mid-drift showed exposing the well-toned abs. Her green skirt barely made it to mid thigh exposing the tight black spandex beneath making Sasuke shudder with lust as he imagined briefly what lay beneath. His eyes lazily traveled up to her face. Neither a wrinkle nor blemish marred her porcelain-textured face, her green eyes blazing in calculating fury making him shudder as he felt all the blood rush down him.

Deciding he could take no more, he disappeared briefly before shoving her roughly against a tree. He pinned her arms above her head and leaned his hips on hers to firmly hold her in place.

Her gasp of surprise pleased him and he lent down to nibble on her ear grinning as he felt her struggle fruitlessly under him.

"Sakura" he breathed hoarsely and began to nibble down jaw to her throat purring at the sweet taste of her skin. He could hear her heart beat faster and he bit back a groan as she began to frantically struggle with her hips delightfully causing friction on his groin. He bit hard at the juncture of her neck and shoulder and heard her cry out in pain,

"Stop Sasuke" he meekly commanded.

His only response to her command was slowly gyrating his hips into her, making sure she felt what she was doing to him. To let her know only she can turn him on like that. He couldn't hold back a moan and he felt her whimper near his cheek and slowly he left butterfly kisses as he made his journey to her earlobe and breathed heavily,

"You're mine."

Sakura snapped back into reality as she heard those possessive words and felt his hard-on against her inner thigh. Mentally she cursed herself for allowing to be caught in such a position and thought of what Naruto would think and felt a tinge of guilt for feeling like she did.

She felt dirty.

A sudden movement of his head roused herself from the self pity and with much anger, she freed her leg and kneed him in the groin. A big grunt escaped his chapped lips as he bent over holding his precious area. Rapidly she jumped into the air and decided she would finish this fight off not caring of the promise she made earlier on Naruto's behalf,

"Chidori!" She yelled.

A blaze of blinding light barreled down to the nearly immobile Uchiha and stuck him dead on.

**_BOOM!_**

The shockwave pushed Sakura back and with her right arm, covered her eyes.

Slowly she opened her green orbs and adjusted them to the thick cloud of smoke and dirt hanging limply in the air. Sasuke's life and chakra signatures were no longer evident and she let out a shaky sigh as she fell gracelessly on her knees heavily breathing.

Her arms were shaky as they held her up, blood slowly leaked down her neck where Sasuke had bit her and minor scratches covered her arms and face. Strands of pink hair limply covered her face, some clinging to the corner of her mouth where blood slowly dripped onto the tips. She was relieved and yet regretful that she had killed Sasuke. Her first crush and friend, dead by her hands, the hands of a medi-nin meant to heal the near dying, not to kill.

"Damn it" she dug her hands into the ground, grabbing a handful of dirt that slowly leaked out from between her fingers due to the amount of pressure she put on them. She was exhausted and in dire need to rest, but Kakashi-

Sakura cast a sideways glance to see him peacefully sleeping with gentle breaths raising his chest in a repetitive manner. A small smile escaped her pink lips knowing he was going to make it.

"Ah!" she gasped; clutching her stomach in pain. Slowly she looked down to see a huge gash spurting out blood with her hand coated in her own bodily liquid. That was were Sasuke had hit her quickly she concluded that he was probably hoping for her to pass out from the wound before she acknowledged she possessed it, and had she not finished the fight; she probably would've fallen into that trap of his.

A small smile of triumph covered her pained-filled face and she knew unless someone found her soon she would die, and sardonically she muttered in her hazy semi-consciousness,

"I guess I'll see you in hell Uchiha." Her world just after the last utterance of Uchiha fell into a bleak, cold darkness as death's scythe closed in on her.

**Well I guess you all can tell I'm in a killing spree mood hehehe >.>looks at people with pitchforks . . don't worry the story is not quite done, I've yet to tie in all the loose strings and remember what I have been preaching you in the earlier parts.**

**I would like to know what you people think and feel free to vent your anger on me concerning the death scene…as long as it's in a constructed manner.**

**On the flip side…NO MORE SCHOOL WOOTNESS!**

**.>REVIEWS WOULD BE KINDLY ACCEPTED! .>**


	13. The Snake Awaits the Venom

**I don't own Naruto, because if I did you'd see a lot of deaths and thereby ruining the show completely…heh. Well enjoy this long awaited chapter my peeps and THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR THE REVEIWS! .**

**Listening to-Dio: The Last in Line "We're off to the witch/ We may never, never, never, come home/…we're the last in line"**

Gaara's stoic green eyes blinked open hearing the swift motion of approaching feet. Shukaku grinned with anticipatory blood lust as he immediately recognized who was coming and commented towards his human vessel,

_It seems we'll spill blood before the night it through_

"I wouldn't anticipate it." Gaara sternly thought, "we still have to surround Konoha so as to make sure none will escape and await for the signal."

_Aww you're no fun, I don't see any hurt in killing a few stray humans._

"You wouldn't, but I would and so will the rest of Suna if we don't fulfill our debt."

_You humans and your stupid morals, life was easier when you were a rampaging killer without reason._

"Perhaps for you but for me I was doing nothing but proving everyone in Suna right about what I was, and now I believe I am content with the way things are now."

_Psht, ever since those fools nearly succeeded in tearing me away you've been more human._

Gaara raised a mental eyebrow (well he doesn't have any --;) towards Shukaku, "I am human, you are just an unwelcome resident dwelling inside of me."

_Sigh, without me kid, you wouldn't be as powerful as you are now_

Gaara could feel Shukaku's condescendingly caring smile and shook his head as the approaching feet stopped before him.

"Konoha is weak and the snake awaits the venom."

Gaara gave a nod and stood up, "I shall take my team over to cover the eastern and western ends, you can take the rest Tobias, and spread them on the North and Southern ends."

Tobias put two fingers to his mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. Everyone spread around their campfires scurried to their feet partially drowsy with minds fully alert.

"Alright Team red is going with Gaara and Team black is coming with me, no excuses and no arguments. Don't pack any of your gear unless its weapons, scrolls or healing tools of sorts; you can always come back to get your camp gear later."

"But what if enemy nin spot the campsite?" Temari questioned.

Tobias turned to face the campsite and did a rapid succession of hand movements to form an illusion jitsu, making all the tents seem like small trees and bushes.

"Happy?" He sneered before turning his back towards all of them and faced Gaara, "Wait for the signal, anyone acting without it will perish and Suna can't afford that. Black team we're heading in!"

With swiftness of a Hawk, Tobias disappeared into the tumultuous night sky with his group of fifty Shinobi following in close persuit.

Gaara turned to see Kankurou and Temari looking at him expectantly and he gave a small nod towards them and the others.

"Good thing I'm wearing waterproof make-up, it looks like a heavy storm is about to come" Kankurou tried his best in lightening the mood, but when he received several glares from various weapon wielding shinobi he decided that being quiet was the best way to go and took off after his brother.

"Good evening Kana"

Aleia cringed as she heard that all too familiar hiss and turned to face the yellow eyed demon,

"Father" She stiffly acknowledged.

Her mind was reeling a thousand thoughts a second but she easily dismissed them as she had a role to do and she was going to do it well.

Orochimaru's heavy feet crossed the room in just a few powerful strides until there was half a foot between him and his daughter. He wanted to tell her everything to get her to understand why he was who he was and he sighed as he motioned for her to sit on the cot. From which she only gave him a shake of her dyed-brown hair, preferring to have some height in the approaching conversation.

"I killed your mother because she was going to kill you. She knew what you possessed could be the undoing of the village and sent you outside where an assassin nin from Suna would kill you. And I stopped it from happening and in my fit of rage, I killed everyone on her side including her, hoping I could protect you and help you grasp onto your powers."

"And it was just convenient to you that all of the good shinobi left leaving behind corrupted arrogance? I'm not little dad, I am not your naive little girl who thinks her dad is the unstoppable knight in shinning armor. I gathered sources who told me their side of the story-"

"So you'd rather believe them over your own father?" Orochimaru's voice bellowed with irritation and Aleia just stood there looking impassive,

"I'd rather believe in a tree barking than you playing the innocent-offended card on me." Her voice was steady and borderline snide as she kept her green eyes on his yellow slits, "here's what I put together father; Mom indeed tried to kill me off because she knew what my powers could do in the wrong hands-those hands belonging to none other than my father and his growing underground of anarchists hell bent on overthrowing the Shadow's government. When you caught word of this you saw potential in melding it into your own excuses to kill off the royals while still gaining my trust. And it worked-for the most part. As the years progressed so did my thirst to gain all the details over that hazy-life altering event. When I did stumble across one remaining relative, it opened up the possibilities and my anger for you kept growing, though it was substantial enough after killing my mother. That's when I left the village and the country, to break free of the hold you had upon me and to find myself and my place in this world. The rest I deem you capable enough to put two and two together and if you can't then get a damn calculator."

Within seconds she was slammed against the wall and she felt a blazing pain shoot through her shoulder but her eyes did not waver nor did she show any signs of pain.

"I am your father you will do as I say." He hissed dangerously low with his eyes luminescent in the growing dark.

"Or what?" She challenged with the same low voice, her eyes narrowed a bit to show she was by no means backing down.

"I will kill everyone you've come to respect and like in the damned village of Konoha."

"Funny, by attacking haven't you already fulfilled that part?"

She was met with a furious punch in the stomach and she sharply drew in a breath of air.

"I could control you, one bite and you will be as good of a slave as Sasuke is."

"So he's just a pawn you intend to discard soon? Or use his body to once again prolong death?"

"He is noting but a mindless pawn and as the days slowly slip by, so does another memory replaced by murderous thoughts."

"So you're slowly weaving your way into him?" She gave a cold, mirthless chuckle before drawing her gaze back to him, "good luck with that because I think you're little pawn is all the wiser" with a short nod of her head she motioned for Orochimaru to look towards the entrance of the door and there stood non other than Uchiha Sasuke carrying in his arms the unconscious pink haired kuniochi.

Not wasting a second, Aleia deftly delivered a kick under his chin sending him back into the opposite wall. Glancing over towards the motionless Uchiha she let out a small smirk,

"Makes you feel stupid doesn't it?" Reaching for her pouch a small piece of parchment was pulled out and she threw it over towards the Uchiha, "if you want to regain all the memories that were lost and cut all ties towards him, then you better start the incantation."

Turning she saw Orochimaru stand on his feet with his eyes tinted red. She was amazingly relaxed as she waited for what may happen next.

"You insolent child! I train you to become strong and this is how you repay me?"

"Yeah sucks to know you've been used doesn't it? Oh the merciless twist of irony." Orochimaru charged her with an unforeseen wrath and she waited for the blow. Soon the sickening crack of his fist breaking her ribs echoed the stone room and she went flying through the walls and trees outside. Landing on her feet she took off towards the center of Konoha not bothering to look back to see if he was following her, his venomous hisses gave enough of a hint.

Sasuke felt as though he'd been slapped in the face.

How could he blindly follow Orochimaru like that without even acknowledging that everyday he woke up, so did another memory fade into the night? And how he couldn't even recall the slightest thing anymore pissed him off. How could he have been such a fool?

"Uuuhhnn" Sakura slowly stirred and opened her eyes. The warmth of the body holding her comforted her and she snuggled closer while mumbling contently, "Naruto." The person holding her stiffened and she looked up through blurred eyes. Rapidly she blinked away the sleepiness to see none other than Uchiha Sasuke. A flash of past events went through her mind and she gasped in surprise,

"I thought I killed you!" She tried to jump out of his grasp, but failed as he only held her tighter.

"I am not easily killed" was his cold reply as he dropped her unceremoniously onto the cot. Sakura had her senses on high alert and what she felt made her stiffen,

"Aliea, she was here, where is she? What did you do to her?"

"Yes. Fighting Orochimaru and nothing." Was his sharp reply.

Sakura's maternal instincts kicked in and she knew something was wrong and mentally fought with herself whether or not to help him, and the answer came swiftly,

"What's wrong Sasuke?"

"I'm a fucking bastard! I can't remember anything Sakura, ANYTHING of my past, and every time I try to it's all hazy!" His anger was escalating his chakra, but it was already low to begin with and Sakura knew that if he kept it up he would end up in a coma.

"Sasuke shut up and calm down!" Her voice was raised, "I agree, you are such an idiot to not even know the side effects of that damned seal he put on you, hell I knew and I'm just a moron in your eyes!"

His eyes narrowed, "Are you saying I'm stupid?"

"Did I stutter?" She responded, "Listen to me Sasuke, I'm going to make this perfectly clear as a whistle to you: You. Fell. For. His. Trap. And if you constantly berate yourself over it you accomplish nothing-not like you've accomplished much since joining his pitiful ranks."

"I got you" was his automatic reply.

"By killing off your best friend! The very one who believed that you had some good left in you when everyone, myself included, gave up on you!"

Sasuke continued to glare at the wall before him unable to come up with a reply until he spoke a few minutes later,

"You loved the dobe a lot didn't you?"

Sakura's heart twisted as an invisible knife pierce threw it with venom dripping off the blade. The thought of never seeing him again tore at her, "deeply" was her whispered response.

"I thought you said you'd always love me and wait for my return."

"And I kept that promise. I waited for you to return and loved you, but not as literally as when I spoke those words. I never made the effort to search after you when two years passed but still waited for your return, but my love for you never dwindled. Naruto though was there to fill the empty gap you left behind. He knew he could never fill everything but he and I still tried and our love for each other was great."

"So you still love me?"

"Love at the moment is too strong of a word Sasuke, not after what you did." Her voice was weak and she mentally cursed herself for coming off as such. Deciding a quick topic change was in order she spoke, "the matter at hand is how we are going to get rid of the seal and return most of your memories?"

"Your friend Aleia gave me this" he unfolded the parchment and it showed pictures of hand positions with each word written next to their respective illustration. "Did I know Aleia before leaving Konoha?"

Sakura shook her head, "she showed up a few months after your disappearance."

"I don't like her."

Sakura let out a small laugh and pointed at the parchment, "her ways are different but effective nonetheless, so get to the memory re-building before your master remembers he can turn on the seal."

The atmosphere was considerably lighter when she laughed and Sasuke could feel his heart speed up and an unknown weight lift off his shoulders. Letting out a small smile of gratitude, he began the tedious jitsu.

"Tsunade come quick!" Shizune called out when she entered the building dragging and unconscious Kakashi with her.

Tsunade immediately was at Shizune's side and for a moment looked over Kakashi, "Sakura's work, she had to go in twice each with different chakra amounts meaning-"

"She probably has no chakra left" Shizune finished. "He will pull through, though I didn't find Sakura, her signature was there as well as Sasuke's"

"But he was fighting Naruto" Tsunade pointed out, "more pressing is that bastard has Sakura! I swear I'm going to kill Naruto when he gets back!"

Jiraiya choose that moment to walk in with his face set, "it's time."

"You mean to say-"

"Yes Tsunade" he finished her sentence easily as though he could hear her thoughts.

"Alright then, do you have everyone assembled?" She was on auto pilot her thoughts jumping from Sakura to Orochimaru to where Aleia was and she cursed her lack of liquor for her jumbled musings.

"Yes everyone is waiting for you."

"Very well then, Shizune, you're to take over while I'm gone."

"Very well Hokage-sama." Shizune bowed respectfully and when she straightened she was left alone in the main hall with Kakashi, who was moaning himself back into consciousness.

"This doesn't bode well" she mumbled to herself, "everyone is being sent to their death on a false hope and nothing more to spur them but their incorrigible pride of a village that stood for so much and now ceased to remain standing at all.

"What has this world come to, are humans truly that illogical? Or are they truly that committed?" She shook her head from her pensive state and performed a small jitsu that transported Kakashi into the tower medic ward. "The ways of a shinobi are forever shrouded in mystery." With a sigh, she disappeared in a grey puff of smoke.

**So reviews are always a great way to tell me what you think. **

**Until then, have a nice day!**

**OOOH And do you think I should make an epilogue to this story or not? I'm pondering because all of you should know that the ending will not be what everyone expects it to be as evil cackle WAVES HANDS FORESHADOW ALERT!**


	14. Kakashi's Ring, Sakura's Despair

**I don't own Naruto and this IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER OF MY STORY. I WILL DO AN EPILOUGE but I must warn you, many will not like how this story ends…muahahhahahaha. There's a high chance of a lemon in the epilogue as well! Now onward…

* * *

**

Tsunade swiped a roll of sweat off the side of her cheek. She hated waiting unless she had sake with her, which would make waiting less painful.

Hours seem to slowly tick by as she anxiously awaited, but time only counted fifteen minutes in passing since she left the strong hold. She unconsciously tugged at her shirt and shifted a few inches to calm her nerves. Her fingers were twitching in anticipation.

_Yup, after this is all over I will lock myself in my office and drink every damn bottle of sake in that room_ she decided as she struggled to find a different way to calm her nerves. She looked over towards the other group and saw them motionless and cursed under her breath toward Jiraiya.

Her attention was adverted to the huge gathering of Shadow shinobi who appeared in the middle of the clearing.

_She came through afterall._ She wanted to let out a sigh of relief but knew that wasn't the wisest action to do at the time. Scanning over them she began to assess the numbers and which ones that appeared to be the strongest.

"This is where Orochimaru-san told us to be ne Ryou?"

"Yes I got explicit orders to move half of the detachments here while the other group went into the village."

"But I don't see nor feel any signs of enemy nin here sir." A second one stated.

Tsunade counted one hundred and fifty two in all, enough for one of her men to every two of them. The odds weren't favorable, but this is where the last stand of the great village hidden in the leaves will take place.

She looked over towards Jiraiya speaking silent words of encouragement and an undying trust. Tsunade felt her muscles ease a bit before they both signaled for their groups to attack.

With great swiftness, the first shuriken was thrown signaling the start of a hellacious epic that would only become the stepping stool towards a greater battle yet to be waged.

* * *

_This is it_

She thought placidly as she continued to run. Easily she ducked a low handing tree branch while running closer towards her destination; the center of Konoha. Where her betrayal will be ultimately set, not only in stone, but in spilt blood as well. She still felt hesitant upon doing this, but knew it was far too late to turn now.

Despite the small feeling of hesitancy, she smiled mirthlessly as a comparison of her and the young Uchiha came to mind. How much alike they were in many complexities of life, yet different when going about handling them.

Her musings were cut short when she spotted and passed the remaining forces Konoha had to offer. Most of them are ignorant to her plan just moments away from finally unfolding…only then would the fate of the village be horrendously determined.

Until then, she decided, she would concentrate on the ever present threat at hand; a rather furious snake demon known as her father.

* * *

Sakura laid Sasuke on the broken cot. He was unconscious due to the immense amount of chakra he spent throughout the day. And as he lay there Sakura began to sort through her thoughts meticulously to see what she felt.

A part of her wanted nothing more than to slit his throat for ruining her perfect life she and Naruto were going to share with one another. Then the other part took a look at his peaceful face and saw what could _be_ instead of what _is_. And for a moment she faltered with her right hand; twitching tentatively from reaching for her kunai in the pouch to restraint from pushing a few stray strands away from his face.

She didn't know what she felt for him anymore, but she wouldn't allow love to filter in her mind as a possibility. She couldn't; not after all he had done to hurt her in the past…especially after he killed Naruto.

A few tears shed from her sparkling emerald eyes as her hands clenched into fists. Her body began to shake with grief as she kept picturing him with his warm smile and big baby-blue eyes full of laughter and joy. The way that he caressed her hand when she was becoming stressed, the way he would always support her saying that he believed in her…that he _loved_ her. And the way he'd hold her in his arms at night when looking up at the stars, whispering sweet nothings into her ear as she peacefully dozed off.

_Why?_ Was all the coherence she could gather in her foggy mind.

Why was it when she was content with the way things were, everything would be ruined? And the one who always ruined her once happy and stable life was Sasuke.

Tightly she closed her eyes willing the last three days away; willing _him_ away. She knew though, that when she opened her eyes, everything would be the same as it was before she closed them: the pain, sorrow, uncertainty, the feeling of becoming a failure to save others; it was all redundant in her mind-her soul, yet it was still there. And nothing seemed possible anymore. Life at Konoha was meaningless as it became nothing but rubble. Life in general, was not worth living if all there was left was a horrible emptiness, a void, which could never be repaired.

She reached for her pouch with her mind set at what she was about to do. She was going to die for acting like this, but at least she could be with Naruto again.

* * *

Tobias crouched down on a thatched rooftop of a house. His keen eyes scanned the area taking in the position of Suna's and his team of shinobi.

_Good_ he thought. Everything was in place, now all they needed were a few precise moves and it would be checkmate. All he had to do is wait for the pawns to touch the opponent's end to deliver the hidden blow. A well known, but often over looked move, therefore; it being the perfect strategic plan against an enemy lacking the stamina to spot a blatant move carefully disguised as the pieces being no longer in usable standards to move; when in reality they lay in wait.

Purely genius.

So many years it took to craft this well formed plan and now in a manner of moments it will unfurl. It was bitter-sweet to think of the plan as such, but he knew that if he wanted to rid the world of such unworthy people, it would have to be done and executed to the fullest capabilities he had to offer. And for Kana, he would do anything to make her happy.

* * *

_Kakashi strode through the empty halls of the Hokage tower, not at all perturbed by the lack of human presence. The meeting was highly confidential and he understood the necessary precautions need to be taken in order to ensure the utmost confidentiality._

_He did not know the reason behind this or anything for the matter besides the time, date and location. He began calculating reasons, coming up with theories and doing anything to keep his sense of foreboding at bay and for the most part it worked._

_Kakashi came to an abrupt halt at the end of the corridor; his foreboding taking an immediate spike as he twisted the pewter knob and walked in to see stern faces looking at him._

_Quickly he scanned the people in the room. Tsunade and Jiraiya were situated in the center end of a table. On the sides were Shizune, several ANBU captains, a few shinobi from another village from which he couldn't quite place, Naruto and Aleia. He was confused by the diversity of the people within here but nonetheless, kept up his calm façade and walked to the only empty chair in the room near Aleia._

_As he sat down he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers in hers silently asking what was going on. She only responded with a quick smile and a gentle squeeze of his hand stating he'd find out soon enough._

_The uneasy silence was broken when Tsunade's voice calmly boomed over the room and it's occupants,_

"_We have been informed of a possible attack upon our village." Tsunade looked over towards Kakashi's direction which confused him even more. "I do not have the full details but the heir to the Shadow kingdom and Orochimaru's right hand man do, so allow them the necessary silence needed for them before asking questions."_

_Aleia released Kakashi's hand and stood up as did the person across from her. Silently they strode to the middle of the room giving one another acknowledging nods. Aleia pushed a few stray strands behind her ear before she spoke,_

"_First off I would like to inform you all that I am indeed the last remaining heir to the Shadow village. My real name is Kana and I am unfortunately the daughter of Orochimaru. _

"_Seven years ago I ran away from that village upon witnessing its slow declination into corruption lead upon by Orochimaru himself. I spent the first year trying to figure out what happened to my family, controlling my family traits and demonic powers. The demon residing in me is Cheveyo-zev the wolf demon perhaps stronger than the Kyuubi itself." Her gaze swept over everyone in the room before she continued,_

"_I am telling you this so you know who you're fighting with in this inevitable battle. _

"_Tobias, my most trusted friend has been with Orochimaru since my departure spying for me so I could exact my revenge for my family. But this is more than just revenge." She allowed a pause before continuing,_

"_Orochimaru has set his eyes for Konoha since his departure and has spent nine years training and gathering a fighting force of monstrous proportions. Tobais has witnessed the numbers and what they're truly capable of and it seems impossible for Konoha to win without outside help."_

_Tobias took it from there as his deep voice resounded off the walls, "that is why I have been building up a resistance of Shadow shinobi who dislike Orochimaru and what he did to overthrow the royals, but with these numbers it is still not enough. This is where Suna comes in. Though they've yet to sign a treaty and will be greatly hesitant on assisting you, we came up with a plan that would obligate them to fight"_

_Aleia then continued, "they failed to kill me when I was little. My mother had paid them in full for the shinobi to not stop until I was dead, but they never finished the job. Using this with evidence, I could persuade them to help in order to repent for their inabilities. Providing just enough nin to eradicate their forces."_

"_But we don't want a full-on assault, because despite evening the numbers, they have trained many years for this and their weakest genin fighter is as strong as an upper-class chunnin here." Tobias bored his eyes into Jiraiya's, "because of that we have formulated a plan. A simple plan which involves all of you and how good you can act."_

_An hour had passed as both Aleia and Tobias laid out their plan in full allowing room for debate and questions. Kakashi upon their last sentence spoke,_

"_what will we do with the inevitable deaths?"_

_Aleia smiled, "that is where my family trait comes in. My family is renowned throughout the area of their amazing forbidden jitsus all of them dark and deadly and very hard to control. In fact no one in my family has activated this trait since my great-great grandfather who could not control the darkness, ultimately leading it to control him; leaving the entire village in darkness and despair. I, though, have been able to control it. With this control comes the amazing ability to cheat death, not for myself but for others. This jitsu needs a little chakra per person and I believe I can keep everyone away from death, despite how they died. But in order to keep up appearances this is where Tobias comes in."_

"_Right" he nodded, "I'm an illusion master and I can create the taste, smell, feel and look of death everywhere fooling anyone who steps into Konoha."_

"_But what of the people supposedly dead?"_

"_A simple transportation jitsu would send them into the strong-hold basement where they would be told of what happened and why."_

"_Why not tell them?"_

"_Because we want to fool Orochimaru and his army and to do that we have to make this as real as possible._

"_After telling them of the situation, they will be given placement orders and get into position to help deal the final blow where my forces of Shadow shinobi, Suna and yours will attack the remaining enemies."_

_Kakashi leaned back in the chair, "we all know what we're doing Aleia, but where would you be in all of this?"_

"_Finishing my revenge on Orochimaru, tricking him into thinking I'm weak and undecided of where my loyalties lye and ultimately lead him to my preferred battle ground and killing him."_

"_Who would lead the enemy Shadow shinobi into position?" Tsunade asked._

"_I will" Tobais stated, "I am second next to Orochimaru, so they will listen to every order I give them."_

"_This is very well-thought out, but what of different scenarios popping up?" Naruto asked._

"_That is why we allowed some lee-way into this plan, we're more than capable of adapting our plans and to keep everyone in touch, Aleia would send out her shadow souls to inform us."_

"_Well then" Tsunade stood, "we are in on this plan and I am giving you, Aliea, a year to persuade Suna for this. That is the estimated amount of time in which you said the Shadow village will not attack correct?"_

_Tobias nodded his head, "yes Hokage-sama."_

_A few minutes passes and Kakashi found himself walking in silence next to Aleia._

"_After this is over will you go back to Shadow?"_

"_I don't know. It just depends if I have a reason to stay here or not."_

_Kakashi unconsciously fiddled with a small velvet box in his pants pocket. "What would be reasonable enough?"_

_She tore her gaze away from the stars to stare at Kakashi and ever slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. Their eyes locked and he lent down to her slowly. She tugged off his mask and kissed him softly on the mouth. Pulling away she smiled, "you."_

_He pulled her against him and put his head on her shoulder deeply inhaling her jasmine scent. _

"_I love you Aleia."_

"_I love you too Kakashi" she whispered back._

Kakashi gasped into the living world with a sheen of sweat covering his face. That memory of a year ago seemed so real. Her lips…He touched his own barely acknowledging the absence of his mask.

"Aleia" He hoarsely whispered.

Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out the little box that has been there for a year and three months. He opened it to make sure the ring was still there. The silver band glinted as the small diamond in the middle had an emerald on each side of it.

_Just like her eyes_ he thought.

* * *

**So feedback will be greatly appreciated and I hope this explained a few of your worries and that in fact, nothing was as it appeared to be.**

**Kakashi really seems to like Aleia and visa-versa, and it shows that despite times of turmoil and war, there will always be room for love. Aww, smut.**

**But the question remains, will the plan work flawlessly and go according to plan, thus ending the sadism I created or will darker times yet be unveiled? Is Naruto truly dead and what of Sakura? What did she mean that she would seeNaruto soon? And is Sasuke truly turning to the side of good or is it just a ploy? ;) Just a few questions that should leave you pondering.**


	15. The Shinobi Way

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Note: LAST CHAPTER WOOTNESS! AND IT'S VERY VERY LONG INDEED. STARTS OUT DARK BUT ENDS IN…WELL YOU SHOULD KNOW IF YOU READ MY PREVIOUS NOTE.**

**Warning: LEMON!**

_The Shinobi Way_

* * *

There comes a time in a shinobi's life where they're completely exposed. Their secrets, weaknesses... everything is made bare for everyone to see. It's unbearable to feel such nakedness in the eyes of your enemies and even friends, because that comfort level was where the darkest secrets lay hidden and once shown, they can never retreat.

In a war of this caliber such secrets can no longer be confined, needing to be exposed so one could truly fight the enemy with all their worth and not at all being tied down. Shinobi's, mostly accustomed to self-seclusion, would rather die than feel that weak nakedness. As a result of such ideals, they die by their own hubris allowing it to cloud the better judgment that was supposedly well carved into their minds since entering the academy.

Again, they die. All of them foolhardy to wave off their known weaknesses, and instead trudge hard-headedly ahead of everyone else thinking they're unbeatable… Such is the way of many and because of this, they die unnecessarily.

Why must humans be flawed to such a predictable action? Why must they insist on trudging ahead in their own self-made haze in order to block out what is currently happening around the battle scarred fighting ground? Why must we keep fighting?

It's easy to answer such questions but terribly hard to follow through with the answers, as the clichéd saying goes: it's easier said than done. We fight to protect our self-interests, we're flawed to predictability so we can become unpredictable with the known, we block out the bad events so we can attain a somewhat human temperament instead of becoming blood-lusting monsters commonly seen on battle fields…we try to attain and feel normalcy in abnormal situations, to have some sort of comfort-ness like a mother's loving embrace to their child.

But is it all just illusionary…Life? That the blood we draw, the pain we feel, the emptiness in our soul when someone you love dearly leaves this earth? What of it? It's only temporary, a stage to endure before ascending to the next one in the afterlife. Is all of this worth it? Is living really real?

Yes. Yes it is. Everything one can feel physically and emotionally is worth fighting for…to stand up against injustice for ideals strongly impacted upon one's life…even if it means fighting against a kindred like your father.

Like my father.

Though a part of me still loves him, I know the pain he's wrought upon others and I know I must stop him at all costs…even if…no when I kill him. Though it pains me, I must keep fighting and exposing long held emotions for my father. Thereof; bare, stripped, completely and inexcusably exposed for the whole world to see; for HIM to see so _he_ knows I will not hold back…so everyone knows the heir has comeback to reclaim what was once lost and to build on the soon to be devastated foundations of Orochimaru's reign. To betray in order to rekindle a flame long since put out.

Fighting to stay afloat in an oceanic storm with fifty foot waves unrelenting bashing you about.

To feel and know how to control and use power when power is needed.

To never give up on yourself or others and forever protect those in need of protecting.

Such is _my_ life as a Shinobi and such is how I shall die.

* * *

Sakura jumped into the fray armed with only one kunai and a small amount of chakra. Her mind was furiously screaming at her telling her she's pulling a Naruto without even thinking up a plan. But seeing her mother figure, Tsunade, surrounded by many shinobi she knew this was the place where she was supposed to be. Deftly she threw her only kunai towards a shinobi on Tsunade's right and landed with her back pressed against the Hokage's back. 

"Where were you?"

"With Sasuke" Sakura caught four small shurikens with her fingers and spun them around before releasing them towards their targets.

"Did you kill him?"

"Nearly did" both she and Tsunade ducked as a barrage of senbon flew over their heads.

"Did you heal him?"

"…Yes…he knows of Orochimaru's plans"

"his reaction?"

"he released the seal and collapsed soon after." Sakura and Tsunade both jumped away from one another leaving twenty Shinobi between them. With one nod from the Hokage, they both pounded the ground before them; collapsing the earth beneath the feet of the enemy nin and soon, as they fell, the earth buried them.

Sakura weakly smiled, the last maneuver zapped nearly all of her chakra and because of that she fell on her knees unable to get up. The cries of her sensei echoed the field commanding her to get up. Sakura winced at the concerned tone and looked up to see a group of shinobi charging towards her. Tsunade couldn't make it on time and grimly she accepted her fate and awaited for the cold metal to unfeelingly slice her body until death came with it's cold embrace.

* * *

Gaara became tense as hundreds of shadow shinobi appeared. He hadn't expected such staggering numbers and doubted that any of his nin would survive- he doubted his own survival as well. 

_What exactly does Tobias have up his sleeve?_ He wondered as he spotted his raven circling ominously above.

A rustle from the bushes alerted him and slightly he relaxed as Tobias strode out signaling everything was going according to plan.

For awhile Tobias stood there exchanging words with each captain, easily pinpointing the first targets of the soon-to-be ambush. He then separated the secondary group from the weakest.

_Good_ Gaara thought before glancing sideways towards his sister, who nodded in acknowledgement.

They were only moments away from ending this, until now, one sided war. And the sooner they attack, the sooner the war would be over.

Shukaku began pacing in anticipation and Gaara could feel blood-lust pumping through his veins.

**Mindless killing spree here we come** Shukaku's cackles echoed Gaara's head before slowly disappearing.

* * *

Tobias felt familiar chakra and was not at all surprised to see Aleia landing next to him. She gave a small wince. 

"Cracked ribs?" he questioned

"Just a bit" she sarcastically smiled and he responded by laying a hand on her and rapidly healed the ribs.

Just as he finished; Orochimaru made his presence known, alerting his men who scrambled out of his way. They wouldn't move unless he commanded it.

"Tobias, hold her in place" Tobias shuffled his feet and looked over towards Aleia, "no you power-obsessed bastard" a calloused smile graced his features, "the tide is changing Orochimaru and you're going down with the undertow"

Aleia noticed his piercing gaze and discretely began a complex jutsu hoping Tobias would continue to draw attention towards his self.

"And just to clarify for you; I've never respected you nor ever believed in your fucked-up plans. Oh, and did I fail to mention-"

"Enough!" Orochimaru's chakra sky rocketed alarmingly.

"reiniku no jutsu!" (made up, means body and soul technique) Aleia's voice cut threw Orochimaru's furious yells and all attention was raptly on her.

Soon following her technique, purple lightning flashed across the sky and a howling wind furiously blew causing tree limbs to snap like tooth picks as the Shinobi stood unfazed waiting for Orochimaru's orders like mindless puppets.

A silver mist heavily appeared and swirled behind Aleia causing a few shadow shinobi to grip their shuriken. The formless mist began to contort into body shapes of the Konoha Shinobi once thought dead.

"I-I thought I killed that man!" A Shadow nin stuttered. He pointed a shaky, gloved finger towards a man on Aleia's right.

Tobias coldly smiled, "you did."

Aleia's eyes blazed silver as she addressed everyone, mostly her father, "I just kept them partially alive in order to bring them back. They're very much alive and ready for round two at this moment." Her voice was colder more malicious than before. Her hair swirled around in its pony tail turning back into her natural black and slowly faded streaks of silver appeared.

Tobias leant back on his Scythe looking bored, slowly he raised his hand and Thaed, his raven, screeched overhead. The signal was given and the Sand shinobi as well as some Shadow warriors jumped out from their place and attacked, soon to be followed by the once thought dead, leaf shinobi.

"You will pay dearly for your insolence!" Orochimaru in turn, sent his shinobi to fight, leaving just Aleia and himself to stand there glaring at one another.

* * *

"So Tobias you betrayed us for your childhood crush, how quaint." 

"Kabuto" Tobias brushed off his comments as if it were a mere spec of dirt on his shoulder.

"I always knew you were unfit to serve Orochimaru!"

"Ah yes Kabuto, 'cause everyone knows that no one else could give that man a blow job as well as you."

"Why you-"

"Charming, better than thou, smarter Adonis?" Tobias was amused as he saw agitation cross the spectacled one's face and he openly grinned just to show how much he knew he irked the younger.

"I am glad we're on opposite sides Tobias, because now I have reason to kill you!"

Tobias snorted, "that's wishful thinking my dear incompetent medi-nin." He spun his scythe as though it weighed nothing, "now lets stop this banter! I have better things to do than waste my time rolling with filth like you."

* * *

Aleia and Orochimaru stood in the middle of a chaotic battle field seemingly unaware of what was happening around them…seemingly. They could feel every burst of chakra, every hitched breath of a shinobi barely able to dodge a death-intended weapon, every step was attuned to their acute hearing and they stood there unfazed. They knew no one would touch them, their own battle was between themselves and no other, and if a fool were ignorant enough to come in uninvited, no matter who, would be dead instantly. Unfortunately a fool did interrupt their glaring but Aleia seemed somewhat relieved for the temporary reprieve as a blonde hair, blue eyed kyuubi container jumped next to her, 

"How's-"

"She's fine."

"…But Sasuke-"

"fought her, won, discovered the hidden agenda-"

"Does she-"

"You'll have to ask her." Aleia concluded their chat while keeping most of her focus sharply trained on her father. A sudden though struck her when Naruto became guiltily silent after his first sentence,

"You weren't speaking of Sakura were you?" A small smile graced her otherwise, emotionless face. "Hinata is helping Shizune I believe."

Naruto nodded before silently wishing her luck and disappeared into the fray. Leaving Aleia opened to Orochimaru's well timed attack.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes when a familiar chakra rapidly intercepted the shinobi and pushed them back with a mere boost in his chakra. 

_He was back _

She joyfully thought as he stood in front of her, protecting her like they did in their Genin days. His back was taut as he stared down the many shinobi that tried to kill her before,

"You will not lay a finger on her" his voice seemed lighter as if he was uncaringly calm, yet the threat-filled undertone was ever bold in his voice. She couldn't see his face but was almost certain she heard the crack of thunder bolting through his stormy eyes.

Sakura weakly sat up, her arms shaking from exhaustion.

"Sakura" he spoke "you have nothing more to prove here and if you stick around you'll be killed and this round; death is certain and inescapable."

"But-"

"Nothing" he interrupted, "don't revert to your hard-headedness in such a time, use your brain Sakura. You're no use as a cadaver; it's better to escape and live to help another day…when you're needed."

Sakura nodded her head as she wobbly stood on her feet, "I love you" she strained out.

He returned the acknowledging nod while sharply training his eyes on the enemy as a reply, and that's when Sakura made her decision of who she truly loved.

She loved Naruto but _loves_ Sasuke.

At those moments when Naruto Saved her, she only felt gratitude friend-wise. Don't get her wrong, she was elated to know he wasn't dead, but she didn't feel those heart-stopping tremors towards him as she did when Sasuke merely brushed his skin against her.

"Sasuke" she whispered.

"Sakura?" Before she could process what was happening, strong arms wrapped around her, "where the hell have you been? I woke up and didn't see you there."

She looked up to see Sasuke's onyx orbs shinning uncharacteristically with worry and…hesitation?

"Do you despise me so much?" he whispered.

Sakura lightly touched his cheek, "I've tried hating you…but couldn't. I've tried moving on…but no matter whom…I never felt what I felt for you."

Sasuke, processing her words differently, bowed his head with his bangs covering his eyes, "you are justified. I did kill Naruto-"

"No you didn't. He just saved me." Sakura felt weird saying that Naruto was alive because she had finally accepted his death…that he wasn't coming back ever, and there he was saving her ass just like the gennin days.

"He's alive?" Sasuke looked down into her eyes trying to see if she was lying, "how?"

Sakura pushed Sasuke down as a rouge kunai whizzed past them. "It's not safe to discuss such topics now Sasuke" she stood up offering a hand and he accepted, "let's be thankful the kunai wasn't intended towards us." She offered him a warming smile as she pulled him up and began running towards the west part of Konoha.

"Where are you going?"

"Towards the emergency stronghold." Noting the hesitancy in Sasuke's footwork she jumped to his side and softly grabbed his hand lacing her fingers with his, "Come on, I'm too weak to defend myself."

Sasuke stopped and cupped her chin, her smooth skin against his calloused skin faintly reminded him of how pure she was compared to him, "you are strong in many ways Sakura-chan, and never think you are weak." He offered a small smile, "plus, I too am low on chakra so between us we're both worth a fourth of a Gennin."

Sakura smiled, "that's not comforting to muse over."

"No it's not."

* * *

It was killing him. His fingers were twitching every time he heard the sharp clang of metal on metal and he struggled to see outside the small, dirt covered window. He let loose a string of curses as he realized his Sharnigan wouldn't be of use either, because of his severely weakened state from fighting. 

He _had_ to know where she was and what she was doing. Was she fighting her father now? How bad of a state was she? Did she use too much chakra on that soul return jutsu? And the ever presently blocked out question: was she dead?

Kakashi looked at the box he had been fiddling with for the past few hours, she better be alive because he had been working up the nerve for nearly two years to ask her to be his wife and he certainly couldn't do it to a dead body!

A small amused grin temporarily placed across his features as he imagined himself having a wedding with a zombie-like Aleia.

She better live, he had plans for their future. Hell, he had used a small portion of his family's wealth, from which he swore he'd never use, to build a house on the outskirts of Konoha with many rooms so she'd know that he wanted a family with her and only her. The house itself was furnished fully and kept clean by some hired help every time he, himself, was on a mission and couldn't do it.

The house was meant for them and their future…not just him…and he highly doubts he'd make it through another death of a person he deeply loved.

"Aleianna" he whispered her full name and closed his eyes as though he savored a fine wine. Ever so slowly, Kakashi drifted off into peaceful dreams filled of her and him.

* * *

Hinata had long since grown out of her stuttering stage. Her hair was no longer cropped but elegantly long and twisted into a braid reaching her mid back and her eyes were confidently focused on Shizune's words, 

"-and we have Iruka who may never walk again. I absolutely detest wars."

Hinata nodded her head in agreement, "hai, but no matter how much you despise something Shizune-san it will never go away so easily."

Just then their chatter was cut short when Sakura entered leaning on an equally tired looking Uchiha prodigy.

Hinata gasped alerting the nearby guards into action. They immediately surrounded the two before concentrating their weapons on the raven haired man.

"Uchiha" Hyuuga Neji confirmed everyone's suspicion. Lee and Tenten both readied themselves, tensing their back muscles waiting for the first strike or go ahead from Neji.

"Wait!" Sakura stood in front of Sasuke, "he's no longer loyal to Orochimaru. He saved me from Orochimaru's clutches and took me here."

Lee saw the pleading in her eyes and then looked over towards Sasuke's stoic demeanor. "Sakura-chan" he began, strolling over towards her and clasping her hand in his. "I love you!" He exclaimed before kissing her hand and soon was aware of a spike in Sasuke's chakra.

Sakura meanwhile was confused at Lee's sudden digression into his old self. "What-?"

"Neji, Tenten, let him be. He has changed for youth is strong once again within him." He looked directly into Sasuke's eyes, "but one slip up and your youth will no longer linger on this earth if you catch my drift."

Sasuke nodded in acceptance of the warning and saw Sakura sway on her feet and deftly caught her before her exhausted body hit the ground completely unconscious.

Neji and Tenten tensed before relaxing, "Hinata will show you to a healing room." With that Neji, Tenten and Lee disappeared back to their posts leaving Hinata and Shizune to decide where they would put Sakura, especially with the traitor Uchiha Sasuke around. They both looked at each other with the same idea,

_Kakashi's room._

* * *

Sasuke sat on a white linen bed across from Kakashi, well aware of his unabashed staring. Sasuke in turn, looked at the famous Copy-ninja, his former sensei. 

Kakashi broke their staring contest by looking at Sakura, "she's quite strong isn't she?"

"Very" Sasuke agreed, "she used Chidori on me" he continued, "and still had some chakra left afterwards."

"Sakura is known for her ability to control vast amounts of chakra and as such, has a large arsenal to play around with when she's not healing."

"When I carried her off towards the sound camp, she mumbled something about Aleia…what's so special about her and why haven't I seen her in Konoha?"

Kakashi smiled, "Aleia is like a sister to Sakura. She taught her many things and how to handle becoming a shinobi while helping her to let go of you." Kakashi kept his gaze on the window, his posture slack and seemingly inattentive.

"A few months after you left, she appeared in this village confident and ever ready for a challenge. Tsunade put her through many tests and in the end; she became a certified Konoha kuniochi and steadily climbed the ranks within the first week. From then on, she grabbed everyone's respect and trust." He looked over towards his ex-student, "she's extremely powerful Sasuke a foe no one would like to cross on even a good day."

"She didn't seem that intimidating when she gave me a scroll containing a Jutsu to rid me of the seal."

"That's why she's powerful; her ability to control and show emotions that may not be there is deceptively deadly all itself. Your encounter with her was lax to say the least, but no doubt she had other pending issues to deal with." Kakashi was curious, but didn't show it. He wanted to know when he saw her and with whom.

His musings went unanswered as Sakura twisted in her bed sheets pouting her lips. Sasuke warmly gazed upon her.

Noticing this Kakashi grinned, "After all these years Sasuke, you're finally warming up to her? Do you love her?"

Sasuke kept his gaze steady upon her and whispered hesitantly, "I…I do."

* * *

Tsunade and Jiraiya stood next to one another relieved that their part had been done. Countless bodies lay around the ground, this time though, Aleia wasn't casting her famous jutsu… death this time was permanent. 

"Ero-sennin" Naruto walked over towards the two, "should we assist the second division?"

"No Naruto that would be folly."

"But-"

"We did our part unless Gaara, Tobias or Aleia signals for it, we shall not interfere."

Naruto was not accustomed to the serious side of Jiraiya and shook his head numbly.

"You two finished with talking? I need some help with carrying our nins to the strong hold!" Tsunade lifted two men over her shoulders and held one man in each or her arms. "C'mon you lazy ass bums!"

Naruto and Jiraiya both rapidly nodded their heads and commenced picking up nins.

* * *

Her movements were graceful as though she were dancing. Her eyes focused and alert; concentrating at the task at hand yet was ready for outside interference. Shall she need to rapidly rid of any interference she would do so, even if it was her own comrades. 

Aliea, at this point, couldn't afford blunders of any kind in this deadly match, for she knew one false move, one folly plan not fully concocted would mean the end of her life. She wasn't ready to die yet and seeing the look in her father's eyes; he wasn't either.

And so they methodically danced to the deadly tune of metallic weaponry. Testing one another to pin point flaws; they were unrelenting in their ways. Their pattern was simple; with every attack the other would defend but soon that same pattern wasn't enough for either of them and the taijitsu replaced by deadlier more consuming means and Aleia inwardly cringed with a foreboding thought. This thought was none too welcoming-her chakra. Though she still maintained 60 of her chakra, it will not be enough to kill the renowned Sannin especially when he has the snake demon ever dominant in his being.

But she planned for this possibility; incase her chakra isn't enough she would have to summon her demon, Cheveyo-Zev to help and she cringed at the thought of releasing a dormant demon patiently waiting to be left out of his confines to do, only he knows what, havoc upon the earthen ground.

Despite that idea, she trusted the six-tailed wolf demon. The concept to any other may seem crazy, but he and her have a bond, a competitive bond trying to push one another to their limits-and it always worked. But relenting control to him still made her uneasy, nonetheless; it was her only choice if she was to kill her father and the people she once held dear, who now soiled everything the village Hidden in the Shadows once stood for.

She faltered in her foot work and barely recovered in time to dodge a poisonous senbon attack. A few stray strands of her hair smelt of burnt soot but she ignored the minor detail. Her plan was an easy concept as she yet again dodged another well-placed jutsu. She wanted him to keep using up his chakra as she dodged, conserving her own. But to keep him none the wiser she would counter with minor jutsus effective when put against his stronger, more potent ones.

She mentally smiled,

_Kakashi may have been the master of a thousand jutsus but I know more if not for attack purposes, then for minimalizing the chakra output while able to counter jutsus three times stronger._

In short she was the master of conservation and annihilation. A foreboding foe to encounter in battle if said title was known and thankfully her father was not familiar with her title, but still she would tred lightly for assuming would surely give her a quick ticket six feet under and closer to hell.

* * *

Sakura awoke to a darkened room. Lightning was brazenly flashing across the sky in quick successive strikes, the cackling crack of thunder not far behind in its own unrelenting torment. A torrent of rain came crashing against the window and sheets of it fell rapidly joining its brethren in massive puddles and in cleansing the blood covered earth and filth covered bodies. Kakashi's outline became distinct when every flash of lightning forked across the sky, his eyes pensive and restless as he watched with a distant stare; his Icha Icha Paradise hanging slack in his hands. Sakura then turned her attention to the bed near hers. Sasuke was looking at her as if contemplating something. 

The silence was heavy on all the occupants with the only interruption being thunder, and Sakura not liking prolonged silences began to talk, "Sasuke-" Her voice faded when her mind became blank. She didn't know what to say to him, after all these years and just finally realizing that she's always loved him was a bit too much to comprehend at this hour and even harder to explain. Sasuke's mind, though, was clear as he picked up where she left off,

"Sakura…I-" his pride was telling him to stop with such unnecessary emotions but his heart was urging him on…and it had been a long time since he's listened to that part of his body. So he tried again, "Sakura I-I lo-love you."

Kakashi was brought out of his pensive state and he watched his two former students struggle with many emotions.

"Sasuke" she whispered with surprise lining her soft voice, "I-I love you too, but Naruto-"

"Will easily recover" Kakashi interrupted their moment with a knowing glint in his eye "he fell in love with Hinata a couple months ago…but didn't have the heart to break it to you."

Sakura normally would be furious at such idiocy but her relieved mind took over as the dominant emotion.

Sasuke lent in and cupped her face with a small smile and gently kissed her lips and when he pulled away slightly he murmered on her lips, "I love you Haruno Sakura." And Sakura responded by wrapping her arms around Sasuke.

Kakashi having a feeling where this was going quietly made his exit only momentarily pausing at the doorway and for a brief moment, pictured it as him having Aleia wrapping her arms around his neck. Turning around he walked down the corridor with his nose in his beloved novel.

Sasuke deepened their kisses by tugging gently on her bottom lip sucking on it as though she were a rare wine. And she obliged his silent question by opening her mouth and allowing his seductive tongue to caress her moist cavern.

A deep throated moan emitted from Sakura's mouth as she explored Sasuke's mouth with meek innocence first touching then rapidly backing away before fully assaulting.

Sasuke's common sense was rapidly depleting as Sakura's nimble fingers made their course down his back and under his shirt. Instead, something more primal and urgent awoke within him and he let out a satisfied growl when she began to knead his pectorals in slow circular motions.

Sakura let out a gasp when her blouse was ripped away from her exposing her plain sports bra and she blushed when he whispered in her ear,

"this" he slid his fingers beneath the bra and began to pull it over her head and threw it carelessly onto the sanitized floor, "will not due." Affectionately he nibbled on her ear earning a small gasp from her. And ever so slowly he laid chaste kisses down her throat and bit her shoulder soon followed by his tongue to soothe the pain.

Sakura began to whimper with want and with steady hands, rid Sasuke of the bothersome fabric that was his shirt.

Sasuke smirked into the valley of her breasts when she let out a gasp, "if you think that's impressive, wait until I fill you." He expertly caressed her breasts and started to suck and nibble her left peak, well aware of her escalating moans and her arched back silently pleading for release. But Sasuke wanted to play more before he fulfilled her desire of release and made his way to her other peak making sure it received as much attention as the other.

Sakura became impatient in her lust filled haze and began grinding her groin to his expressing the desire to be taken. Sasuke grunted and returned the thrust as his member painfully strained against his pants.

Sakura noticed this and with her abnormal strength quickly rid him of both boxers and pants leaving her to feast upon his fully aroused sight.

_Dear kami he's big_ Sakura ran a curious finger down his shaft earning a few twitches and a breathless moan. Becoming bolder, Sakura flipped them over and bent down. Before licking his tip she looked up to see Sasuke's lustful stare and began to lick his pre-cum. He buckled his hips making her take most of him in her mouth and moaned, the vibrations from that nearly made Sasuke come and he rapidly switched positions.

Sakura barely noticed somewhere in between, she lost her pants and panties. She, though, didn't dwell on it when she felt Sasuke's fingers delve into her core, stretching her and caressing her in all the right places.

A loud moan escaped her lips and she began to move with his fingers, covering them in her slick juices.

Sasuke felt her muscled tightly contract against his intruding fingers and felt his member throb with anticipation. He pulled his fingers out of her earning a small whimper and placed the head of his manhood at her entrance. Sasuke looked up into her lidded eyes darkened with lust and she only bucked her hips as a coherent response. And so Sasuke entered her and in one thrust destroyed her maidenhood and he kept it there waiting for Sakura to adjust and afraid that if he were to move he would cum from the tightness engulfing him.

"Uhn…You're so…" Sasuke was enable to form intelligible words and he lost all sense when Sakura, fully adjusted, began to rock her hips in a lazy yet needy manner.

Throwing all thought into the wind, Sasuke began to pound into her the euphoric sound of wet flesh slapping flesh ever dominant with the moans of pleasure echoing off the walls.

Sakura felt tension building in her abdomen and her moans became pants as harder and oh kami escaped her mouth.

Sasuke himself was uttering one worded sentences as he fought for control. He didn't want to cum until she did so he pounded even harder into her and when a loud, _Sasuke_ escaped her lips he knew he hit her G-spot and within minutes she came with a muffled scream as she bit into his shoulder and soon following her example he came with a loud moan himself.

Both spent they slumped down into the hospital bed not at all aware nor caring that some one heard.

* * *

Cheveyo-Zev completely took over her body as the Snake demon nearly claimed his comrade's life. This time around the Snake wouldn't be able to land a scratch on her because this time his blood lust will over power her senses…And his power will finally unfurl.

* * *

Tobias coughed up coppery, crimson liquid and smelled the metallic tang of blood dripping from his scythe. His ever faithful raven, Thaed, was perched on his shoulder nuzzling his master's blood-stained cheek. 

Had it not been for his over-sized raven, he knew he'd be dead. And he glared in the direction of where Kabuto's dead body lay.

The man cheaply laid a blow on him a few minutes in their match, leading him to forever exist as blind.

* * *

Naruto firmly embraced Hinata and kissed her forehead. How he whished he could break off the engagement with Sakura…and how bad he felt for betraying Sakura behind her back with her best friend. How he whished none of this ever happened…

* * *

Jeraiya took in Tsunade's ragged form and slowly approached her with a cup of hot sake in each hand. 

"Here" he handed her a cup and greedily she gulped it down while he merely took sips to enjoy the hot liquid running down his throat.

"They're finally defeated" she whispered unable to make her voice loud for her body was spent.

Jeraiya nodded his head, "yes, but the question remains, who is the victor."

"What do you mean?"

"Aleia and Orochimaru are still fighting near the border, a black encasing surrounds them enabling anything to enter or leave. Whoever wins that battle shall truly decide the victor of this war."

"If she does win do you think she will reclaim her place in the Shadow Village? Or will she let someone else take over?"

"It's hard to say" he gazed over the rim of his sake cup to look into Tsunade's eyes, "she is fiercely loyal to her beliefs and nothing more…not a village or person. Her beliefs though may indirectly pertain to certain objects, but never will they have a ruling place in her mind."

Silence engulfed the legendary Sannin and nonchalantly Tsunade commented, "Sasuke is back."

With a knowing smirk, he raised a little note pad, "so I've heard."

* * *

**Alright, Epilogue will come out sometime and shall be labeled, The Claimed. So look out for that, it's only going to be one chapter but will mainly focus on Sakura's life with Sasuke after the war and yes…will have lemons with our favorite couple heading most of it.**

**Also if you were disappointed and wanted a NarutoxSakura fanfic, I have one out currently so check that out if you're a fan of that couple.**

**Thanks for all of your support; I really appreciate it so very much.**

**In memoriam to my best friend, Kayla. Oct. 31 1988- August 1 2006.**

**Class of 2007**

**My number one reader.**


	16. Concerning Authors

**Please take note:

* * *

**

This is an authors note that does not regard this story not another chapter...if you arent interested then you have my best wishes and my hopes that you find great stories.

Now on to the serious part of my post

Recently there has been some very bad behavior centered in the naruto fan fiction area and this is what i really wanted to address. It is not our purpose as authors or readers to discourage another author from ever writing again, the purpose of the review button first and foremost is to 'gently' encourage the writing of others either through praise for the things you like or to delicatly point out areas where improvement is necessary from a factual standpoint...Opinions are necessarily discouraged. But recently some people who happen to be authors themselves have gone so far past the mark of decency that they have turned to bashing their fellow writers even going so far as to get ther friends and dare i say it...cronies to do the same.

I have recently come across a page titled the "unreccomended list" and even despite the fact that i am on it...Shame on you. You should know better then that, it is rude and childish and beyond the pale, your actions are a detriment to yourself and your readers and only show what a petty and unforgiving person you are.

Personally I am proud to be on that list because i stand there with some of the greatest writers in the naruto fan ficiton world, I dont care how many of my stories you put there i will still consider it an honor being ranked with people like Tsukashi and Leafygirl along with some of the other amazing authors and stories i dont have time to name.

I only ask that those people who have seen this list repudate it because it hurts more then just the author it hurts their strories and that in turn hurts the readers, things like this should be discouraged. I also refuse to sink to this persons level...i dont throw poo back at monkeys just cause they threw poo at me. I only have to say that i really like your stories and I dont know why you feel its necessary to act this way

And again

Shame On you

I just ask that any other authors who feel the same please post this note in their stories or at the end of their chapters. We have to let people like this know that its not ok to bash or flame and that it wont be tolerated any more.

Thank you and have a good day

and rememeber as always Happy reading/writing

Krickitat

Oh and P.S if your gunna bash me then i ask that you please take the courtesy to spell my name right.

its K R I C K I T A T

* * *

**I completely agree with krickitat, and I, for one, am sick of this as well.**


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